17-year-old Ohio girl graduates with Bachelor’s degree

ASHTABULA, Ohio (WJW) – A local 17-year-old is set to graduate this spring — not with a high school diploma, but with a Bachelor’s degree.

Selinda Floss, a recent graduate of Edgewood High School, is set to graduate on May 9 with a Bachelor’s degree in criminology and justice studies from Kent State University.

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“She has worked tirelessly since she was in eighth grade to accomplish this feat,” Floss’ mother, Sherilyn Carlo, told FOX 8 News.

While she was in middle school, Floss learned about Ohio’s College Credit Plus program, which allows students in grades seven through 12 to take college courses for free.

“She was instantly interested,” Carlo said. In just eighth grade, she started her college journey.

“We spoke with her guidance counselor at the middle school who gave us the directives needed to apply. She then went on to take the entrance exam and began taking college courses in January of her eighth-grade year,” Carlo said. “Selinda gave up every single summer since eighth grade to take classes so that she could achieve her goal that everyone thought was impossible.”

During her college journey, Floss suffered the unexpected loss of her father in July 2022, navigated obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic and worked two jobs, Carlo said.

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“[Her jobs] gave her time with her friends that she didn’t get to experience while in school, and to earn extra cash for anything that she wanted, as well as provide crucial money management skills necessary for adulthood,” Carlo said.

Floss first graduated at the age of 15 with an Associate of Arts degree from Lakeland Community College in 2022. She then went on to attend Kent State Ashtabula/Trumbull, where she is set to receive her Bachelor’s degree on May 9. She also graduated from Edgewood High School in January of 2024.

In September, Floss was crowned Miss Grapette in 2023’s Geneva Grape Jamboree. After that, she traveled around the state to encourage young women not to give up on their hopes and dreams.

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After graduation, Floss wants to study law at the University of Alabama. After that, she’d like to return to Ohio to study at the School of Law at Case Western Reserve University or Cleveland-Marshall Law School at Cleveland State University, Carlo said.

“She hopes to fight the human trafficking atrocities that are currently so prevalent. She has a great passion for this. In fact, that is the reason she went into criminal justice to begin with,” Carlo said.

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