PRIEST RIVER — Dylan Glazier will walk the graduation aisle with his classmates at Priest River Lamanna High School in just over a week, but not before graduating alongside his classmates at North Idaho College.

Through the state's dual credit program, Glazier completed his associate of arts degree at NIC this year, walking with the class of 2018 on May 11 — nearly a month before his high school graduation.

"It was stressful, I can guarantee that," Glazier said. "I just had to stay on top of things."

Glazier started taking classes at NIC the summer before his junior year, and said he has been at it full time ever since. Every college class he took, he said, went toward his high school credits as well. While it was stressful, Glazier said it wasn't too hard as he was able to find a "good balance" between high school and college.

Glazier plans to attend the University of Idaho to finish up his two years left of undergraduate study, majoring in criminology. Part of his interest in criminology came from television shows, such as "Criminal Minds." His family was an inspiration as well, he said, as two of his uncles were police officers.

As he heads to UI in the fall, it will be a bit of a homecoming for Glazier since he was born in Moscow. He moved to Sandpoint when he was 2 or 3, he said, and lived there until fourth grade. He has been in Priest River ever since.

"A lot of my family is here, so it's home and I like it," Glazier said. "I don't think I would trade it for any other place."

While North Idaho is his home, Glazier will head east — possibly to New York — after college to pursue his criminology career and "try something new," he said.

As a junior at PRLHS, Glazier was honored as a Top Scholar, a program that recognizes the top 10 percent of juniors across the state. He missed a lot of stuff at PRLHS, he said, but tried to "close the gap" by participating in sports as a member of the school's basketball and track teams. He was also able to come back to PRLHS for his final semester, enjoying time with his friends before the June 9 graduation.

"I had the opportunity to graduate last year, but I told my counselor no for two reasons," Glazier said. "The first is because I want to walk with the class I grew up with. The second one is it is two years of free college."

The dual credit program, created by the Idaho Legislature in 1997, is a low- to no-cost option for high school students to get a start on college. Seven colleges across the state, including NIC, participate in the program. Nearly 50 North Idaho high school students, five from Bonner County, graduated from NIC on May 11.

"I think more people should do it," Glazier said of the dual credit program. "Especially in this area."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.