MORROW, Ga. -- A metro Atlanta student is picking up a college degree before he receives his high school diploma.

Derek Delk, a student at Clayton State University, is receiving an associate’s degree in pre-engineering, weeks before his high school graduation ceremony.

"You see an opportunity like that, you jump at it," Delk said.

Delk is taking advantage of a new program called joint enrollment, which allows students to take college classes while still in high school.

Delk’s mother admitted on Thursday that her son is not seen much on his high school campus.

"He's just what they call a ghost student. He's on the roll there, but he attends classes full time at Clayton State," said Pat Delk.

Derek has used his summers to learn calculus and trigonometry, which didn’t leave much time for vacations or dating.

"He's tenacious. He's intellectually gifted and he has a great mother, so when you have those two combinations, you can pretty well succeed at everything," said Dr. Mannie Hall, a professor.

Derek’s college experience isn’t over yet, though. He will enroll this fall at Georgia Tech to get his full degree. The joint enrollment program has cut two years off of Derek’s stay at Tech.

Back at home, his sister is graduating from the University of Georgia.

"Yes, we're gonna have a divided house," said Pat Delk.