Imagine after reaching school, you turn around and find your family. This is just the case for some members of the Wilcox community. One such person who has a different role when at home and when at school is Mrs. Slate. She is a teacher in Biology and WILL (independent study) since 1998, advisor for the class of 2021, WAG, and for her sophomore daughter Annika, who loves playing volleyball, softball, and is involved in WAG club and CSF. Everyday, they eat breakfast together, drive to school together, and upon reaching Wilcox High School, they go their own ways, until lunch, where Annika enjoys hanging out in Mrs. Slate’s room while she grades papers. .

During Annika’s freshman year, she received grades in her report card from her Biology class taught by none other than her own mother. Although some may believe having a relative teach you a class in school may be uncomfortable, Annika enthusiastically claims, “I really enjoy having my mom here. It is very convenient in case I need something or have questions and it is nice to know I always have her support.” As both a supportive mom and teacher, Mrs. Slate states, “I love having Annika at Wilcox, because I feel that I get to see her a lot more often than other moms get to see their kids. I can be a bigger part of her everyday life, hopefully in a positive, not annoying way. I also enjoy getting to know her friends and being there for them as well.” She explains how their schedule is basically bringing your daughter to work-day, but every day.

While Mrs. Slate recalls the role of a teacher at Wilcox, she double-roles as a mother as well. Just as Annika loves her as a teacher, sometimes she may see her double feature as a caring mother: “My mom always jokes that she is going to stalk all my friends and follow me around. And it seems that whenever I have an appointment in the office, my mom happens to also be there and I get ‘the look’ of why are you here?”

Similar to as how home is where the family is, Wilcox is also a familial community, but more diverse. As Mrs. Slate explains, “Through the last 21 years, Wilcox has opened my eyes to the great value the diversity of our student body is and how every student has something to offer. Working here has made me truly love diversity which is one of the reasons why I drive from Hollister every day because I also want my children to appreciate all types of people with a rich variety of backgrounds and experiences.”

The two dashing Slates love being together at Wilcox, home, and in their hearts and minds. Just as they both claim, “There may be no greater bond than between a mother and daughter.”

The idea of having your mom at school may be cool, but how about your twin? Matthew Go and Tristan Go, Wilcox’s Varsity Basketball players, have the same face, and together, play the same sport, the same video games, and mostly, the same classes. The shocker is that they are actually not identical twins. Now, that’s what we call “twinning”.

The Gos enter campus together and leave together. On Wilcox campus, it’s probably very hard to distinguish them, since they look so alike. This is a thought that never grew in the mind of Gos’ Kindergarten teacher. Matthew claims, “In kindergarten, we switched places once, and our teacher got angry at the both of us. They called our parents and told them what happened. We switched classes because I wanted to play this computer game that my brothers class had, and my brother wanted to play with Legos in my other class.” The current teachers at Wilcox may want to check for the correct “Go” in their class at the start of attendance, although Matthew claims, “But, yes, those times are definitely over,” even though “people always get us mixed up, especially the teachers.”

        The so called “brotherly love” exists between the twins, as Matthew explains, “It feels weird sometimes, to know that your brother is walking somewhere around the school. It makes you worry about them though. You have to make sure they’re okay even when you’re not with them, and when you leave school, you need to leave with them.” Although, at Wilcox, Tristan clarifies, “Yes, it is fun having a relative around all the time, but everyone needs some alone time once in a while.”

There are a number of blood-related families in Wilcox, but the Wilcox community alone is a family in itself. With so much diversity and people of all backgrounds interacting in a common community, it is easy to consider Wilcox a family made up of a broad spectrum of stories and personalities.