劳伦和安娜·特克特对努力工作并不陌生。 在堪萨斯州堪萨斯城的派珀高中读书时，两人都几乎全职工作。 如今，他们仍然像以前一样努力学习，但多亏了KC奖学金和威尼斯人娱乐城奖学金，他们把精力集中在学业上。
两姐妹每年都获得了价值1万美元的奖学金，这笔钱涵盖了她们在堪萨斯大学的学费。 姐姐劳伦在2018年获得了奖项，安娜在2019年获得了同样的奖项。
“In high school I was working so much and taking AP classes because I was always worried about how I was going to afford college. I wasn’t really taking care of myself,” said Ana. “Since I have tuition taken care of, it’s allowed me to slow down a lot, which has been really nice.”
她现在主修社会学和环境研究，辅修人类学。 她参与了同伴学术领导（PALS）计划，荣誉计划和第一代Roos。
除了她的课程和课外活动，Ana也进行自主学习。 安娜说，她的奖学金让她有更多的时间与朋友和家人在一起，并专注于学业。
“My grades have been a lot better than they were in high school, and it’s been a lot less stressful,” said Ana. “I feel like I’m able to enjoy classes more because I’m not just rushing through assignments. I can actually absorb the information.”
劳伦是主修英语辅修社会学的大三学生。 She is the co-president for the 威尼斯人娱乐城 chapter of Her Campus, a national online women’s publication for college students. 她也是一名住宿助理，一名First Gen Roo学生导师和一名荣誉项目学生。
今年，她的本科研究集中在监狱的艺术项目上，被威尼斯人娱乐城本科生研究杂志《Lucerna》刊载。 她目前还在研究美国第一家女同性恋媒体，该媒体始于堪萨斯城。
“I think if I had to work almost full-time hours, like I did in high school, I would not have been able to do as much as I have been here. I definitely don’t think I would have gotten into undergraduate research,” said Lauren. “My research on art programs took me a year and a half, so I wouldn’t have been able to do that intensive of a study if I had to worry about paying my entire way through school.”
Having shared nearly everything with her younger sisters for most of her life, Lauren is the first to admit that, initially, she was not eager to share a campus with one, but both sisters say they’ve grown closer in college.
“I definitely think it’s given us a better relationship than we would have had otherwise,” said Ana.