<<< College is a family thing for these women, each attending MHC
with her sister. (Left to right: Jessie and Jenifer Hanrahan, Jennie Austin,
Serena Schiller, Thao Mee and Ge Xiong)
While still in high school, Jennie Austin '99 came every other weekend to visit MHC during current senior Carrie Austin's sophomore year. "Although we've been close friends since high school, neither of us feels crowded here," Jennie says. While they share many friends and frequently spend time with each other, they haven't taken any classes together. "We're very competitive and might be 'at' each other." Jennie notes that her parents liked the idea of their daughters attending college together, hoping they would share friends and watch out for each other when socializing. "They also like the fact that three-way calling saves money," she adds.
Visiting a sister on campus, especially meeting her friends and attending her classes, seems to overcome objections to attending the same college. Having always had Jessie '97 a year ahead of her in school, junior Jenifer Hanrahan's initial response to the idea of attending MHC was "Not again!" But she enjoyed the classes and felt that people here were genuinely interested in her. Jennie Austin "wasn't planning on attending a women's college, feeling it couldn't embody the typical college experience," but changed her mind as she came to know MHC over many visits.
Some sisters need little persuading. Stacey Lewis '98 and Kyle Lewis '99 are the third and fourth daughters in their family to attend MHC; their sisters graduated in '94 and '95. Coming from a close-knit military family that moves frequently, Stacey and Kyle describe themselves as "best friends" and enjoy being able to attend college together.
Biology majors Jessie and Jenifer Hanrahan have taken classes together but find that competition is not an issue. "It's like having a built-in lab partner," Jenifer reports. "We usually get the same grades but tend to understand different things, so we explain the material to each other. At first we even studied together."
No matter how close they may be, the hectic pace of college life can keep sisters apart, especially since most live in different residence halls. "We're so busy with different schedules, we actually have to plan times to get together," says Thao Mee Xiong '98 about her sister Ge Xiong '99. Sometimes even that's difficult. First- year student Serena Schiller's sister Noel '98 is studying in France this year. Serena says she had initial concerns about living in her sister's shadow, but now feels that attending MHC was a good choice, in part because "we didn't go to the same high school, so it means a lot to me to have our college experience in common."
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