"Yeah, I'm gonna be down there the 31^st, but I start classes the 1^st," Hilliard said. "I'm still in school right now. I'm taking finals and tomorrow [May 26] is my last day of finals, but I actually graduate on the 6^th. So, I'll go to Nova and then come back for graduation and then go back to Nova."

Hilliard went on to add, "Most people would just go in July, but I just wanna get a head start."

As is the case for many soon-to-be college students, this time of transition is bittersweet for Hilliard.

"It's kinda sad, but that's-you got to do what you got to do is what I say," Hilliard said. "You graduate from high school and you gotta go right back up to class. It's good, I'm not complaining at all. Of course I'm gonna miss some people down here, but it's my life and I'll do anything I gotta do to make my dreams come true, so to say."

Hilliard is not sure yet who he will be rooming with when he gets to Nova, but is expecting several newcomers to be there for the first summer session.

"I think Tyrone [Johnson and] I think Markus [Kennedy] is too," Hilliard said. "I think JP [JayVaughn Pinkston] is too. So, I think all of us will be down there except for Ash [Yacoubou]."

To read the rest of this article I wrote for VUSports.com, click Here.