Four siblings, who are quadruplets, graduated from the University of Alabama over the weekend.
Annagrace, Chloe, Michaela, and Max Hansen of Pennsylvania decided to come south to the university, but for different reasons.
Chloe, a criminal justice major, changed her original college destination after visiting the campus.
“I had committed to play lacrosse at LaSalle University (in Philadelphia), but we had come to see the campus here and even though it was at night and dark, I knew I wanted to come here,” she said. “The campus was just beautiful.”
Annagrace, a marketing major, and her brother Max, a fiance major, visited several schools throughout the south to find the right fit and eventually settled on Alabama.
“Max and I knew we wanted to go south,” said Annagrace. “We looked at schools in Alabama and North Carolina in the High Point area.”
Max had to change his sports allegiance to go to the Capstone.
“I grew up an Auburn fan,” said Max. “I have an uncle from Alabama and so we looked at both schools and my parents wanted me to go to Alabama so, so bad.”
Michaela, who is majoring in education, and Chloe, who is her identical twin, discussed the bond they share.
“Chloe and I are identical twins and we’ve always done everything together,” said Michaela.
“We made our own friends and were our own people, but we still knew everyone was close,” Chloe aid.
While they are excited to have graduated from Alabama, they were also eager to return home.
“We are all so happy we came to Alabama, but my mom is excited to have us all home again,” said Max.
The siblings said they will miss the campus and the experience.
“I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of international students in my time here and I think I’ll really miss that,” said Max.
Annagrace said that she will miss attending classes.
“I’ll miss coming to class,” she said. “I wasn’t really much of a ‘school person’ in high school, but the quality of education here really got me excited to go to class every day.”
The siblings’ parents were thrilled with their children’s time spent on campus.
“I am a graduate of La Salle University in Philadelphia and have spent the last 13 years as a member of their Board of Trustees,” said Bud, their father. “I have had the opportunity to learn and understand the ins and outs of higher education and my children’s experience has been extraordinary.
“Our entire family has completely embraced UA and consider ourselves die-hard Tide fans.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.