ROCHESTER – For many, the age of 16 is one of sophomore or junior year high school classes, of new driver’s licenses or even sweet sixteen celebrations.

And for one Rochester resident, it’s also the age of college acceptance.

Leyla Tremblay, 16, was accepted in December 2023 to attend Bridgewater State University. The acceptance came in the wake of a whirlwind few months of online high school, which Tremblay completed following a “really tough time” in her life.

“I was proud, but it was almost a sense of ‘You're not stuck in that hole anymore and all your hard work paid off,’” Tremblay said. “Like it wasn’t for nothing.”

Tremblay’s first two years at Old Rochester Regional High School were difficult, she said.

She struggled through freshman and sophomore classes and suffered from depression, leaving Old Rochester during sophomore year in April 2023.

After getting help for her mental health, Tremblay enrolled at Penn Foster, an online high school program that can be completed at one’s own pace. 

While in the Penn Foster program, Tremblay spent the days working or helping around the house with her two younger brothers. She said that at night, usually around 11 p.m. when her family went to bed, she would go on her computer and work until anywhere between 5:30 to 7 a.m.

“It was terrible,” Tremblay said.

Penn Foster classes were typical courses for earning a high school diploma, though Tremblay also took more unique courses, like one on childhood development, she said. Tremblay particularly likes the subject of psychology.

In December 2023, Tremblay graduated from high school and received a diploma, completing the program at Penn Foster in less than six months.

She applied to Bridgewater State University about a week after graduating, when she decided to study social work.

Tremblay found out her acceptance first through a text message from Bridgewater State that she showed her mother, Kelsey Velho.

“She was just really shocked, but she was very, very proud of me,” Tremblay said.

Tremblay also said her friend Mackenzye Caton “played a really huge role” while she attended online high school.

“I don't think I would have been able to do the late nights or anything without her,” Tremblay said.

Tremblay will attend Bridgewater State later this fall. She is not nervous, just excited, she said. In addition to her studies, she wants to play soccer. 

But while she was struggling through the first two years of high school and mental health issues, Tremblay thought “it was the end of the world.”

“I felt that that was that,” Tremblay said. “And [it was] so bad I wished that there was somebody that was in my same shoes just to tell me that it gets better.”

So for Tremblay, her story serves as an example that things can and do get better. 

“It's not the end of the world and there's always the brighter side to things,” she said. “You just kind of have to let it pass.”