manda MacTarnaghan remembers holding sea
urchins and dissecting owl pellets at Lycoming
College. She remembers taking small steps
across what felt like an endless Lycoming
campus. For Amanda, it was a defining
moment, and it was just first grade.
“It’s so bizarre to look back and be able to put some of
the pieces together,” said Amanda of a first grade field trip
to Lycoming. “As I held that sea urchin and felt it tickling
my hand, I decided I wanted to come to Lycoming and be a
marine biologist. I’m guessing we spent the day in the biology
department. Looking back, we must have come from Heim and
gone to Wertz for lunch.”
Today, Amanda is a mathematics major at Lycoming and is
also pursuing secondary education certification. Her goal is to
graduate in Spring 2018. “My first semester started off a little
rough because I was homesick,” admitted Amanda. “But after a
few weeks I really began to enjoy my time at Lycoming. I went
from counting down the days until winter break to not believing
my first year was almost over.”
Ironically, Amanda was not the
only Lycoming freshman on that
same field trip twelve years ago. The
Hipple twins — Bethany and Kaitlyn
— were also in Amanda’s first-
grade class at Ashkar Elementary
School. Being from Hughesville,
Lycoming College is only about
25 minutes away from the girls’
hometown. Like Amanda, Kaitlyn
remembers the science building and getting to hold
a sea urchin. But this moment didn’t have the same impact as it
did for her twin sister, Bethany, or fellow Lycoming classmate,
Amanda. “I fell in love with Lycoming through the summer
program Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week,” said Kaitlyn. “I
was heading into my senior year and loved the atmosphere of
Lycoming. It was small and intimate and I found myself quickly
feeling at home.”
Bethany agreed. “The campus itself captivated me,” she said.
“The beautiful buildings and Lycoming’s heritage was
something that I wanted to become a part of. I can recall
going home that day and telling my parents that that’s
where I wanted to attend college.”
Like most twins, Kaitlyn and Bethany are best friends. “We
have been through everything together,” said Kaitlyn. “We’ve
had the same group of friends, worked at the same place, and
joined the same clubs. We did everything together ... naturally,
we decided to go to the same college.”
But it wasn’t until all three girls were enrolled at Lycoming
that they realized they’d been on that field trip together.
Bethany and Amanda are both math majors. “Somehow it came
up that she (Bethany) had gone to Ashkar in first grade,” said
Amanda. “Eventually, we realized we were on the trip together.”
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Freshmen Trio
Discovered Lycoming
During First-Grade
Field Trip
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LYCOMING COLLEGE 2015 SUMMER MAGAZINE
F E AT U R E S