Many high school students tend to be apprehensive of what will happen when they leave behind their familiar hallways and classrooms and head towards the vast and complicated college environment. To the majority of students, college is an ominous presence sitting just a few years away but to some students, college is a very familiar location. A select few of St. Paul Academy and Summit School students have parents that work on college campuses, making college a less distant concept for them.

Sophomore Sarah Wheaton is especially immersed in the college world as both her parents work at separate colleges. Her mom works at the University of Minnesota as a career coach and has previously taught as an English Professor at Hamline University. Her dad is the Vice President of Finance and Administration at Macalester College.

Wheaton says that her daily life is unaffected by her parents profession but she is still connected to both colleges. “I usually go to graduation at both schools if my schedule permits because it’s a big deal for my parents and I want to support them,” Wheaton said.

Junior Emma Taussig is also the child of two professors. Her dad is a Professor of Law at Hamline University and her mom is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota.

“I spend very little time on campus,” Taussig said. “I think I’ve only been with my dad to work once or twice. When I was younger, I would go to the U of M with my mom more often. When I was there I would usually hang out in her office, her colleagues’ offices, or in the graduate student lounge.”

Though Taussig only occasionally spends time at her parent’s work places, she does travel with them more frequently to out of state conferences. “At conferences I sit in talks, babysit other professors children, and hang out with my friends who are professors or graduate students who I only see once in a while, and explore the campus the conference is at,” Taussig said.

Students’ involvement in their parents’ work lives is only half of the interaction. Their parents also play an active part in their academic life. “Since my mom taught English, she’s always willing to look over my papers or discuss literature with me,” Wheaton said.

Taussig also sees advantages with having parents who teach at a college. “My parents give me great feedback on all my school work, especially in history, English, and science, seeing as my mom is a cultural/medical anthropologist and my dad teaches constitutional law,” she said. “They also know about the college admissions process which takes a lot of pressure off.”

Wheaton often talks about her English papers with her mom but does not feel more attached to English than other subjects, despite her mother’s work as a professor. “Maybe I was exposed to more literature as a young child and that has helped my reading and writing, but it’s not like I favor English over other subjects,” Wheaton said.

Though Wheaton is not completely attached to her parents work, some students of professors have their parents’ subject as a central part of their life.  Sophomore Matt Suzuki’s mom works at Macalester college with the title DeWitt Wallace Professor of Asian Language and Culture. “I am fluent and literate in Japanese because of my mom who teaches that language,” Suzuki said. Suzuki grew up speaking Japanese and often speaks the language at his house.

Though these students already have connections to their parents’ workplaces, they still have to make an informed decision about where they would like to go to college. “My parents have said I have to apply to Macalester because it would be free for me to go there, but it’s always been made very clear that I can go to any school I want,” Wheaton said.

When Taussig was asked if she felt obligated to attend one of her parents’ schools she said, “I kind of feel the opposite. Neither school interests me especially, but I’ll likely apply to them anyways.”

Although having a parent as a professor can have a variety of effects on the life of an average student, from providing greater exposure to college campuses to increasing knowledge on their parent’s subjects, like most students, Wheaton believes “[Having parents that are professors] is both a blessing and a curse.”