Most students leave for college with only sentimental items from home while everything else stays in their room until they return for Thanksgiving break.
But for Claire, Anders and Grant Moen, they got to bring their siblings.
The 18-year-old triplets were born in Phoenix, but moved to Minnesota and then spent some time in Benton, Arkansas where they attended Harmony Grove High School. There they were involved in various clubs and activities such as basketball, soccer and art. All three were members of the Haskell Mayor’s Youth Council and the Arkansas Scholars program.
With impressive resumes, guidance counselor Susie Simmons says she saw what they could achieve from the moment they stepped into Harmony Grove.
“I could see the potential in them from the first time that I met them,” Simmons says. “They are very smart, well-rounded, self-driven, and motivated in life, academics, personal, and social aspects of their lives.”
When it came time to begin the college search, Arkansas didn’t quite have what they were looking for, according to the trio.
“We visited quite a few schools in Arkansas,” Anders says, but after more research they found what they were looking for at ASU Barrett, the Honors College, at the West campus.
Todd, the triplets' father, looked at various schools with his kids, but what stood out at ASU was the way the staff and students treated the Moens.
“We looked at a lot of schools where they could’ve had their scholarships and everything at but the one thing that we’ll all agree with was that when we went to the West campus was the way everyone talked to us and treated us from staff to students,” Todd says.
The Moens graduated in a class of 81 students, so going to a college campus with about 3,000 students wasn’t the easiest transition for them.
“I think we all knew we wanted to go to a smaller, tight-knit community type of college and that’s what West campus felt like,” Claire says. “You know everyone and you get to have good relationships with your professors and you get to meet a bunch of people.”
It’s easy to believe in the stereotype that all multiples have to be alike. As if there’s some sort of unwritten rule that they must think alike, dress alike and have the same interests. Although the Moens were involved in some of the same activities in high school and decided to go to the same college, these triplets are not all alike.
“They have similarities between them but they are very different,” Todd says.
Claire Moen
Claire is not only a National Merit Semifinalist, but she also played basketball and soccer and was involved in various clubs during high school. During her short time at ASU she has already joined the Programming and Activities Board (PAB). She received the New American Scholar-President’s Award and the Barrett’s Honors College-Salt River Project Honors Scholarship from ASU. These scholarships are totaled $72,000. She also received a local scholarship from the Rineco Corp. based in Haskell, Arkansas totaled $5,000. She is studying life sciences and plans to go to medical school after college to become a doctor.
“I’ve always thought pediatrician but I’m still very unsure because there’s still so many different areas to explore and I’ll see what fits,” Claire says.
Anders Moen
A lover of art, Anders has already involved himself in the Barrett Artists and Musicians Club. He received the New American University Scholarship-President’s Award and the George and Joann K. Jones Scholarship from ASU for a total of $62,000. He was a member of the National Honors Society and Beta Club and Student Council in high school. Anders is at the W.P. Carey School of business and is studying accounting. He plans to become a certified public accountant.
"I plan on becoming an accountant and getting my CPA and specifics I'm not really sure about, there's a lot of variety in the field," Anders says.
Grant Moen
Grant is a National Merit Scholar and received the New American University Scholar-National Merit Scholarship and the Barrett Honors College-Pre-Med Scholarship for a total of $65,000. Grant is majoring in biology and is considering medical school as well, but more along the lines of research. He is also involved in PAB with Claire and plans to join Honors Devils next semester.
“I’m just kind of exploring right now and hopefully figure it out as I go, see what interests me the most,” he says.
