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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; You might think, being among the first students admitted to Notre Dame University through a new program, King&#8217;s College third-year students John Docalovich, Nicholas Bennie and Jason Spevak would be &#8220;Big Men on Campus&#8221; these days. After all, they will go from the tiny King&#8217;s campus to the fabled South Bend, home of the Fighting Irish, in the fall.</p><p>&#8220;The phrase being used most often is &#8216;guinea pigs&#8217;,&#8221; Bennie said with a laugh.</p><p>That&#8217;s because they and 10 other King&#8217;s students are the first to succeed in getting admitted to Notre Dame through a new &#8220;3-2&#8221; program that turns traditional college education on its side.</p><p>Typically, students spend most of their first two years taking &#8220;core requirements,&#8221; followed by two more in classes tied to their major. These students have been taking the more focused courses from year one, peppering each semester with some core subjects typically needed for a bachelor&#8217;s in a liberal arts institution. In fact, they will spend the next two years at Notre Dame still taking some core classes such as art or philosophy.</p><p>&#8220;Maybe basket weaving,&#8221; Docalovich joked.</p><p>The program is so new, Spevak said, that King&#8217;s has already adjusted the courses being taught to students entering their first year in it. &#8220;They are teaching them things we didn&#8217;t cover our first year.&#8221;</p><p>Other colleges have 3-2 agreements with Notre Dame, but this is the only one where you sign up for it from year one, Spevak said. Elsewhere, students who excel and seem a good fit for a transfer to South Bend are invited to do so in their third year.</p><p>&#8220;I think there&#8217;s less pressure that way,&#8221; Spevak said.</p><p>Does the notion of attending such a prominent school worry them?</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m prepared, I&#8217;m not nervous,&#8221; Spevak said with a laugh that, well, sounded kind of nervous. &#8220;At least I keep telling myself that.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;ll be harder,&#8221; Bennie added. &#8220;It might be faster paced.&#8221;</p><p>Bennie and Spevak conceded Notre Dame wasn&#8217;t originally on their radar when they started applying to colleges and universities. &#8220;It&#8217;s one of those schools you think only a special group of kids go to,&#8221; Spevak said. &#8220;Now we&#8217;re in that group.&#8221;</p><p>Docalovich said he actually had applied to Notre Dame, and was turned down. &#8220;I got a letter back from Notre Dame, and a week later I got a letter from King&#8217;s saying I was accepted into this program,&#8221; he recounted.</p><p>&#8220;I showed them.&#8221;</p><p>All three are legacy fans, coming from Catholic families that, while having no immediate members who are Notre Dame alumni, have rooted for the Irish sports teams for decades.</p><p>&#8220;My family&#8217;s already planning their trips out there,&#8221; Bennie said with a laugh, adding that they all got off-campus housing. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to be buying futons.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a park right behind our house,&#8221; Spevak added, &#8220;They could always sleep out there.&#8221;</p><p>Yes, the program means five years of school instead of four, but Spevak noted &#8220;we&#8217;ll have two degrees.&#8221; Upon completion, King&#8217;s will award them a bachelor&#8217;s degree in their general field of study, while Notre Dame will award one in engineering. So, for example, Bennie will get a chemistry degree from King&#8217;s and a chemical engineering degree from Notre Dame.</p><p>Besides, Bennie added with a wide grin, no offense to King&#8217;s, but Notre Dame grads get a certain amount of prestige with the sheepskin.</p><p>&#8220;A degree from Notre Dame can get you a job anywhere.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kings College students John Docalovich, 21, left, and Nicholas Bennie, 20, discusses being accepted into Notre Dame University&#8217;s engineering program under the dual enrollment agreement. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040916kings1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kings College students John Docalovich, 21, left, and Nicholas Bennie, 20, discusses being accepted into Notre Dame University&#8217;s engineering program under the dual enrollment agreement. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040916kings2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kings College student Jason Spevak, 20, talks enthusiastically about his acceptance into Notre Dame University&#8217;s dual enrollment program in the King&#8217;s College administrative building on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040916kings2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Kings College student Jason Spevak, 20, talks enthusiastically about his acceptance into Notre Dame University&#8217;s dual enrollment program in the King&#8217;s College administrative building on Friday. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040916kings1cmyk.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kings College students John Docalovich, 21, left, and Nicholas Bennie, 20, discusses being accepted into Notre Dame University&#8217;s engineering program under the dual enrollment agreement. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040916kings1cmyk.jpg</photo2><caption2>Kings College students John Docalovich, 21, left, and Nicholas Bennie, 20, discusses being accepted into Notre Dame University&#8217;s engineering program under the dual enrollment agreement. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040916kings2cmyk.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kings College student Jason Spevak, 20, talks enthusiastically about his acceptance into Notre Dame University&#8217;s dual enrollment program in the King&#8217;s College administrative building on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040916kings2cmyk.jpg</photo3><caption3>Kings College student Jason Spevak, 20, talks enthusiastically about his acceptance into Notre Dame University&#8217;s dual enrollment program in the King&#8217;s College administrative building on Friday. </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>King&#8217;s students blaze new trail</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

From W-B to South Bend, a new road for King’s College students