Sister Spotlight

Sandy and Jackie Rech

Kappa Chapter

Sisterhood has always been important to Jackie and Sandy Rech. As twins, they've been side-by-side their entire lives. When they started attending the University of Kansas together, they took Sisterhood to a new level by joining the Kappa Chapter of Alpha Sigma Kappa. We caught up with Sandy and Jackie about their experience in ΑΣΚ, going through life together, and what lies ahead after graduation.

Sandy first heard about ΑΣΚ at an engineering club fair. She had a really good chat with one of the Kappa Founders, and decided to attend an informational meeting. Jackie heard about the info meeting from Sandy and decided to attend, too. After that, they decided to go through recruitment! The most appealing aspect of joining ΑΣΚ to Jackie was the chance to join a group of ladies who were going through the same experiences as women in engineering. At that time, the Chapter was fairly new and small, so Sandy was excited to help lay the foundation and watch it grow into the successful chapter it is today.

Sandy's favorite ΑΣΚ tradition is their chapter's annual Friendsgiving, a chance to bond with Sisters and eat some great food. Jackie's favorite tradition is the Big-Little program, because it has been so fun to watch the family lines grow. Sandy adds that one of her favorite ΑΣΚ memories is jumping out of a present to reveal to her Little, Kali, that she was her Big. One of Jackie's favorite memories is dancing with all of her Sisters at their first formal to the song "Footloose." Her favorite chapter activity was going to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins and carving them together. Sandy's favorite activity was a ropes and zip line course they participated in during their sophomore retreat. She said, "I thought it was a great bonding experience, conquering our fears as a group." Jackie says her favorite thing about the Chapter is the dedicated, hard working group of girls who she gets to call her Sisters. Sandy agrees, adding that their chapter is special because they all have such diverse talents and interests.

One of the most important skills Jackie says she has learned, through her aerospace engineering major and ΑΣΚ, is how to work with a group of diverse people with different ideas towards a main goal. Sandy said she's learned that having a solid support system of people can help you overcome challenges, in college and in daily life. One of the biggest challenges she's worked to overcome is impostor syndrome in her field and courses. Her major is interdisciplinary computer science with a biology focus. Looking back, the advice she wishes she could give herself at the beginning of her college career would be

never doubt your abilities.

Looking back, Sandy says her most memorable college experience was during the spring semester of her sophomore year, when she studied abroad in Australia at James Cook University. She had a wonderful semester of traveling, making friends, and being near the ocean. Jackie?s favorite memory was watching the Super Bowl in February 2020 with her friends and storming Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence after the Chiefs won. These memories are all the more precious now.

Jackie's advice to herself would be "you're going to make it through." She feels she?'s had to work hard to establish credibility among her peers and professors, but what gets her out of bed in the morning is having the chance to work for a future career and life that she can create. What gets Sandy out of bed in the morning? "My cats,?" she joked, "and learning something new every day is pretty cool too."

It's a bittersweet time for the twin sisters, who are graduating this spring amid uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. They said, "It'?s been really sad not being able to celebrate the last semester of undergrad as we hoped. It has also been a challenge to balance school and home life with everything going on. We appreciate the support of our university and Sisters during this difficult time."

The silver lining to all this is the bright futures that lie ahead for these two sisters. In a few months, Jackie plans to move to Los Angeles to begin working in space systems. Sandy is hoping to go to graduate school and earn her master's in biological oceanography. And, of course, they will always have each other.

We couldn't resist, so we asked them to describe the worst and best parts of being a twin. Sandy said it's hardest when she has to wave and act like Jackie when strangers think she is Jackie! She said the best part is being able to tag-team responsibilities. Jackie said the toughest part is not being able to wear the same outfits without being judged. So what's her favorite part of being a twin?

Having a built-in best friend for life.

The Inside Loop

Royal Blue or Silver? Jackie - Royal Blue | Sandy - Silver

Do you know your Hogwart s House and, if so, what is it ? YES! Jackie - Ravenclaw | Sandy - Hufflepuff #hufflepride

What is your favorit e branch of science? Sandy - Oceanography/Biology | Jackie - Astronomy/Physics

What was your first job? We were both poolside servers at the Wichita Country Club. We shared one car between the two of us so we even worked the same shifts together!

Favorit e season? Sandy - Summer | Jackie - Fall

Who is your Wom an in STEM icon (living or dead)? Sandy - Grace Hopper | Jackie - Katherine Johnson

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Sandy - Australia or anywhere with a beach | Jackie - New York City

What might someone be surprised to know about you? We both did Irish dance for 11 years. We are retired now but can still get jiggy. We even won a few national titles and danced at the Irish Open in Ireland.

What was your m ost m em orable vacat ion? Sandy - When Jackie and I went to Hawaii for a twincation. We explored Maui, drove the road to Hana, and even saw some green sea turtles while scuba diving. | Jackie - When I went to Orlando Florida last January with my engineering friends. We were there to attend an aerospace conference but, oddly enough, made enough time to go to Disney World, Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Center, and the beach.

What is your favorite book? Sandy - Pride and Prejudice | Jackie - The Book Thief

When was t he last time you laughed so hard you cried? Sandy - reminiscing about embarrassing childhood stories with my family | Jackie - Happy hour Zoom with friends

What's one superpower would you want ? Jackie - the ability to fly or be invisible, depends on the day | Sandy - the ability to pause time

If you could only have one food for t he rest of your life, what would it be? Sandy and Jackie - ice cream!