Three's company for Traxlers

By Andrea Allis
Copy Editor

For this year only, siblings Sami, Jake and Matt Traxler all call Saint Mary’s University “home.”

Sami, a senior, said she really likes having the support of family present on campus.

“It’s fun to actually see the things they’re involved in!” she said. “I can go watch Jake run cross country or track whenever he has a home meet and I got to watch Matt play intramural volleyball.”

Jake agrees that it’s fun to support his siblings: “I've gone to more band concerts for Matt this year in college than I did in high school, which makes me feel better about how many I missed last year.”

Jake, a sophomore, and Matt, a freshman, have their own reasons for choosing SMU, but having a sibling—or two—to show them the ropes certainly didn’t hurt.

Sami said she may have had some influence on her brothers’ college decisions but did not want to pressure them into attending SMU.

“I know I had a strong opinion and said lots of positive things about Saint Mary's,” Sami said, “but I wanted it to be their own decision. I stopped talking to both of them about it once they were ready to get serious about choosing a college.”

Jake agreed, saying he would “avoid talking to [Matt] about the subject so he didn't affect [Matt’s] decision.”

But Matt admits that Sami and Jake played a large role in his college choice.

“Even if I pretended I made the decision by myself, it would be a total lie,” Matt said. “Sami and Jake always talked about all the fun they had here, and they made me really interested in the university. Whenever I came here, I felt really welcomed and I really liked the atmosphere.”

Although the Traxlers say they don’t see each other too often, they do share a few things in common at SMU. Sami and Matt are both involved in Student Activities Committee (SAC) and see each other at weekly meetings. Matt and Jake are both science majors and have a few mutual friends.

All three agree that it’s important to make a point of catching up from time to time, even if it’s only for a few minutes over lunch.