The twins ’ high school years were challenging with the COVID-19 pandemic . The unpredictability was hard for students like Anna and Henry , who opted for in-person classes rather than 100 % online school .
people , it would be like maybe 12 . So it was just a little taste of what it ’ s supposed to be like , but then you just are looking at the empty seats .”
Before the pandemic , Anna wasn ’ t so sure she wanted to attend OSU . She had dreams of going northwest to Oregon , even though she had only been there once when she was younger .
“ I really didn ’ t wanna stay here . I was like , well , I ’ ve lived here 18 years , of course , I have to go somewhere else ,” Anna said . “ I was even considering the University of Oregon and then I looked up the distance , and it was like 25 hours away .”
The pandemic had given her a different perspective on leaving home and being far from family . Enrolling in concurrent classes on OSU ’ s campus during her senior year of high school helped solidify her decision to stay in Stillwater . Henry also took advantage of concurrent classes at Northern Oklahoma College .
On Anna ’ s first day of concurrent classes , she carpooled with her father . He is a professor in the Department of Art , Graphic Design , and Art History at OSU .
“ So we drove together and she was in tears that first day of going to ( concurrent ) classes at OSU ... by the next week , she was like ‘ I got this ,’” Chris said . “ I think it ’ s a wonderful program for students and financially for parents .”
For those who meet the admission requirements , concurrent classes on campus charge a reasonable fee , but classes hosted at the high school campus are free to students .
“ I loved concurrent . I think that if I hadn ’ t done concurrent , coming here would ’ ve been a much bigger shock ,” Anna said . “ I remember going to my first concurrent class at north classroom ( building ) last year and the pace was completely different . It was lecture from beginning to end and there wasn ’ t any pause time to like mess around like high school kind of was .”
Unsurprisingly , Chris ’ passion for art has rubbed off on his children . Henry began designing his own clothes , winning a best-dressed award in high school . At the same time , Anna spent hours in her room watching YouTube videos to teach herself how to make a craft .
“ She ’ s very creative , has a really good eye and is really good at drawing . She ’ s taken some art classes and some drawing ( lessons ) with one of Chris ’ colleagues ,”
Sarah said . “ She told me not long ago that she never really says ‘ I can ’ t ,’ which sounds so cliche . She just goes out and tries .”
Anna credits her father for encouraging her to check out new art and look at things from different perspectives . However , she doesn ’ t think being an artist is a career path for her .
I don ’ t really like being critiqued on what I do is the thing . I think of art as being expressive , and everyone can make art and there ’ s really no wrong answers ,” Anna said . “ Lots of art classes , you ’ re being graded on what you ’ re making and how your technique is and everything , and that ’ s great , but I think it would affect my
PHOTO by CHRIS PETERS STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 29