Working together as a team

Annette and Jessica Seher were attending a private school with plans to attend college and embark on careers in medicine after graduation. Then, in November, the rug was pulled out from under them.

“We found out that they weren’t accredited,” Jessica Seher said.

The fraternal twins, both 18, faced graduating with a meaningless diploma that would bar them from applying to college. Frantic, their mom, JoAnne Seher, looked around at the other high schools in the area, but none of them wanted to take the sisters in the middle of their senior year.

“I was actually looking to move them to a little school outside of Boise,” JoAnne Seher said. “I was thinking I was going to have to ship them out, which would have been devastating – to me and also for them.”

That’s when they found out about the Bridge Academy in Coeur d’Alene. The Bridge Academy accepts transfers of junior or seniors and caters to students who are dedicated to learning but haven’t been served well by traditional instructional methods. Jessica said the instruction is primarily through computer study and the classes are in three-hour sessions.

“Everyone has the same story as us. They all have their stories,” Annette Seher said. “Pretty much everyone there is enthusiastic about learning. It’s not an alternative school like a drop-out high school that many people think of an alternative school to be.”

“It’s really laid back and there’s no drama between the students,” Jessica Seher said. “We all just click together.”

The two made the transfer, despite some resistance from the private school they were leaving, and applied themselves to making up three years of classes.

“It was really, really difficult to do,” Annette Seher said. “We were totally shocked … we had to work hard to catch up.”

They worked hard, often staying late at school to finish units on the computer, and they kept their goal of a diploma in sight. In May, they graduated. Annette Seher plans on attending NIC as a pre-med student, with an eye on a career in anesthesiology. Jessica Seher said she will attend the University of Idaho as an elementary education major, a degree she hopes to apply toward a career in pediatrics.

According to their mother, the girls’ drive for education stems from the difficulties they watched their parents go through.

“They grew up with parents that didn’t go to college and always struggled financially,” JoAnne Seher said. “I think they learned very early on that if you want a financially stable life, you need to go to college.”

Outside of school, the Sehers seem like typical teens. They listen to the usual North Idaho combination of country and rap. They’re both addicted to the TV show “House.” They read widely (Annette Seher calls “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” a fitting commentary on today’s relationships) and watch chick flicks (“13 going on 30” is their favorite). They both work about 30 hours a week as part of the Bridge Academy’s requirements, Jessica at Subway and Annette at Kohls.

They also swim competitively.

“We’ve been swimming for 10 years,” Jessica Seher said. “I do the 500 freestyle. Annette’s (event) is the 100 backstroke.”

“We’ve both taken first in our events several times,” Annette Seher said. “In state we were on relays that won first at state. And then I placed sixth at state in the 100 backstroke.”

They said that they were naturally attracted to the very different events: Jessica Seher to the long-distance trials that require endurance, and Annette Seher to the power sprints. It’s a polarity that stands out against their many similarities.

Another difference comes in the way they face trying times. In their junior year, their parents divorced. It was a difficult period for the whole family, and especially for JoAnne Seher who was suddenly a single parent with three kids. She said that Annette has a strong sense of humor, always ready with a smile or a laugh at just the right time, while Jessica is very active and always on the go.

“If it wasn’t for their stability, I would have been much worse off,” she said. “I have the one daughter that kept me laughing and the one daughter that kept me busy. So, I didn’t have much time to feel sorry for myself.”

The twins have a close relationship and they lean on each other whenever the times get tough. But both sisters agree on who their role mode is.

“Mom overcame a lot of stuff when she was younger and then she’s always been there for us no matter what,” Annette Seher said. “She missed a lot of work in order to get us our education.”

Now the two are headed off to college after following a rocky road to a diploma. They said they’re grateful for the Bridge Academy for letting them in and helping them accomplish their goals. With Jessica Seher leaving for Moscow in the fall, however, they’re facing a new challenge.

“It’s definitely going to be really hard. It’s going to be the first time apart in 18 years,” she said. “We’re excited for each other, but we’re freaking inside because we don’t want to be apart.”

Still, their mother said their drive for education will see them through. She called the twins’ determination their strongest quality, citing the negative reaction they received from the teachers and administrators at their former school.

“Someone can tell you that you’re not worth anything and you can either stay where you are and believe it, or you can decide to work hard and rise above it,” she said. “They worked together as a team and rose above it.”