Two Texas Christian University students who graduated during the May 7 commencement ceremony received triple degrees.
According to a TCU announcement, Sarah Jennings and Brent Hewitt graduated with three bachelor’s degrees each.
Jennings graduated with a BA in both studio art and modern language studies (French) and a BS in dietetics. Hewitt received a BS in both economics and engineering and a BA in mathematics. Jennings graduated with upper-division and lower-division honors, and Hewitt graduated with upper-division honors.
“These students embody the hard work and student excellence at TCU. What a shining example of the cross-discipline efforts underway, the well-rounded Horned Frogs we have, and the incredible graduates we will have in the class of 2022,” Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg shared in the announcement.
Jennings completed her three degrees in five and a half years and took a total of 217.5 credit hours. She said she chose TCU because the school offered several fields of study she was interested in pursuing. After realizing during her second year that she wanted to help people improve their relationships with food and their bodies, she added the dietetics major.
“This decision set me behind schedule for the dietetics degree plan, but would allow me to achieve a triple degree — including some of my other areas of interest — if I planned very carefully while finishing the dietetics degree, took 18 credit hours most semesters — as well as summer courses — and continued with my plan to study abroad in France,” Jennings said.
According to Jennings, she has plans to complete a master’s program in dietetics at TCU by May of 2023. She plans to work with children and adults who struggle with disordered eating and eating disorders. Jennings shared in the announcement that she is grateful for the support she found at TCU.
“I am grateful to my friends and family, all my professors, the TCU health center and TCU police, and my mentors and research team for helping me up when I would fall down, supporting me, challenging me, and helping to light the path to the future of which I dreamed,” she said.
According to TCU, Hewitt already had 60 credits when he transferred to the school four years ago. He started as an engineering major but added two additional degrees along the way to graduation.
“With the help of my Honors adviser, I picked out some courses that were of interest to me,” Hewitt said. “From there, I found the space to complete the necessary courses for the major. The biggest challenge was trying to take the classes that interested me the most without having to compromise too much to fit them into the rigid structure that the engineering degree plan requires.”
According to Hewitt, his professors, peers, and parents were his primary support system during his college career. “I definitely could not have done any of this on my own and am really thankful,” he said.
Hewitt plans to pursue his master’s in economics from the University of Leeds in England and hopes to work in financial technologies eventually.
