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Older siblings offer aid, guidance |
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Thursday, 06 September 2007 |
by JULIA HARR
Lifestyles Reporter
One sure way to cure the homesick blues is to bring your family to college with you.
“I pretty much never get homesick because half of my family is here with me,” freshman communication disorders major Michelle L. Rhyne said.
Michelle left her parents in Stanley, N.C., only to be welcomed to Appalachian State University by the arms of her brother, Thomas R. Rhyne, and sister, Jessica L. Rhyne.
For the Rhyne parents, having all of their college aged children at Appalachian State has made life a bit easier.
“They can come see all of us at the same time now, instead of having to
go to different colleges,” senior communication disorders major Jessica
said.
The Rhyne siblings love attending college together and see each other often.
“I see Michelle almost every day,” sophomore criminal justice major
Thomas said. “She only lives two dorms down from me so I run into her
all the time.”
Thomas makes a point to see Jessica regularly, too.
“We go to the movies on King Street all the time,” he said.
“I know if I want to do something and none of my friends want to, that
I always have one of them to hang out with,” Jessica said.
These three siblings rarely fight or argue and can see nothing negative about going to college together.
“Instead of living together for 14 or 15 odd years, we get to live
together almost 20 [years],” Thomas said. “Our bond is going to be so
much stronger for that.”
Jessica and Michelle, both communication disorder majors, have even discussed opening a practice together or in close proximity.
They both agree that a little friendly sibling rivalry could be fun and look forward to picking on each other professionally.
Vera L. Woazeah and Victoria L. Woazeah, twin sisters from Charlotte,
N.C., experienced a reunion with their sibling Justin M. Woazeah when
they came to Appalachian State.
“We grew up with our mom and he grew up with our dad,” junior pre-professional legal studies major Vera said.
“We would have never had the chance to form this strong of a bond with
him had we gone to different colleges,” junior criminal justice major
Victoria said.
“By coming into college with our brother already here it opened small
doors for us,” Victoria said. “We made friends with some football
players and it just made us more comfortable; we had each other, too.”
Vera and Victoria now live with each other in an apartment.
They participate in various clubs including Hip-Hop Oasis, Council for
Cultural Awareness, Black Student Association and Gospel Choir.
“The only time we have apart is during class and work,” Victoria said.
The sisters said there are a lot of perks of having each other in college.
“We have each other to depend on,” Vera said.
Victoria said that people shouldn’t take what they have for granted
because she may have never had the chance to bond with her brother if
it wasn’t for her college experience with him.
Some siblings go to the same college, but don’t necessarily see each other on a daily basis.
“We try to see each other once a week,” freshman biology major Michael
S. Pulver said of his sister, senior vocal performance and music
education major S. Brynne Pulver.
Last year, they estimated they saw one another once every two weeks and are attempting to change that this year.
“I think were going to try to meet every Sunday for lunch from now on just to catch up,” Brynne said.
Both siblings agree that coming to college has strengthened their bond and resolved some fighting at home.
“Having my big sister here influenced me coming here,” Michael said. “Having some family here gave me a safety net.”
He said that he enjoys having his sister here because she helps him get around and helped him to make friends when he got here.
Brynne’s only complaint about having her little brother here is sharing one car.
“If he takes the car to go home for the weekend, I’m kind of left stranded,” she said.
“I hate doing it to her but sometimes I don’t have a choice,” he said.
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