- May 18, 2025
When Mainland High School senior Joseph Monroe crosses the stage at the Ocean Center on May 30, he'll be doing so for a second time in less than two weeks.
On Tuesday, May 13, Monroe graduated from Daytona State College with his associate's degree, a milestone made possible thanks to the Mainland Collegiate Institute program, of which Monroe is part of the first graduating class of seniors. The program gives students more dual enrollment, Advance Placement and AICE course opportunities, while offering students on-campus support and guidance.
"It put me on my A game the entire time," said Monroe, who is in the top of his graduating class.
Senior year, he said, has been a rollercoaster. Initially, he planned to finish his high school years at Seabreeze, where he had attended for his junior year, but due to family circumstances, Monroe transferred back to Mainland.
Monroe could've obtained his high school diploma at the end of his junior year — but he wanted to continue his dual enrollment and graduate with his AA. He didn't need any more credits, so he could've taken it easy and chosen to take electives in his senior year.
But that's not the kind of student he is.
Monroe, who hopes to one day be an engineer, knew he needed to get used to challenging himself.
So he decided to take physics 1 and 2, in the same semester. One is an AICE course, the other an AP class.
Both taught by Mainland physics teacher Drew Hilburn.
"He's a brilliant young man," Hilburn said. "Really, top of his class in so many ways."
There are different ways to measure students, he added, and one of those ways is how they lean into the material and incorporate them into everything they're learning. That's where Monroe excels, Hilburn said.
"He is not a kind of student who sits there, listens to the lesson and then goes home and tries to work the problems," Hilburn said. "Immediately after the lesson, he is processing ideas and he has questions, and these questions are really, very well thought out. ... He's trying to connect ideas, and this kind of student, this is just phenomenal."
He and Monroe have not spent a lot of time speaking about what he'll do past high school. Hilburn said Monroe is focused on absorbing as much knowledge as he can. He's dedicated for the things Hilburn says he values most as a teacher himself: Understanding the material, rather than aiming for a good grade.
"He is very dedicated to being the best person he can be, and he has come to a belief that it is through education that he will improve himself, not just intellectually, but also in this kind of moral sense, too," Hilburn said.
It's thanks to teachers like Hilburn that Monroe said he has been able to do well academically. Going into graduation, Monroe is looking at a 4.6 weighted GPA.
"Everything about this school year has been rigorous," Monroe said. "It's going to be hard, but they're not going to make it any more harder than it absolutely has to be. They're going to be understanding and that's part of the main reason why I've been able to perform at the level I've been able to perform, because I got great teachers who know what they're doing — and that was at Seabreeze and it was most certainly here as well."
Monroe knows that Hilburn expects him to succeed. So, he works hard.
"I'm a firm believer that I ought to make good on the investments other people place into my life," Monroe said.
In Hilburn's 31 years of teaching, he' seen a lot of great students. But what stands out about Monroe, he said, is his kindness in the way he interacts with others. It's a form of leadership through soft skills: how you interact with others, the questions you ask, the facial expressions used, and the way in which you transition from one moment to the next. They're all leadership qualities, he said.
"And boy, does he have that in spades," Hilburn said. "He has made both of my classes better classes because he's in them."
This year, Monroe applied to over 10 scholarships. He knew he would need them for college, and so his approach was to apply for as many as possible.
And when he's not studying or taking classes, Monroe works. This year, he's been working at Floor and Decor in Daytona Beach.
What keeps him motivated? Knowing that it's OK to take a break here and there.
"It's not the end of the world if I'm not on top of it," he said. "You really just enjoy those smaller, quiet moments. Those are what really pushed me to keep on going."
In addition to MCI, Monroe is also part of the National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Faith is an important part of Monroe's life. Raised in a Christian household, Monroe said his parents have instilled values that he's carried with him through his high school career, particular following his freshman and sophomore years.
"I hope I appear as a much better person today than back then," Monroe said. "... Through prayer, through reading, through going to church services, through volunteering at my church, meeting people, making connections, I've grown a pretty strong relationship with God and I've just been able to serve people better."
Monroe will be headed to the University of Central Florida in the fall. But though he's soon to be a Knight, he will always be a Buc.
"There's a foundation of greatness here and success and academics, sports, and the like," Monroe said. "It's a great platform to get to jump off of into the next level of my life."
