Bill Skach described his daughter, Claire Skach, as \u201ca person of contrasts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her love of science and her creative energy are two very different aspects of her that help to make her very multidimensional, according to Bill Skach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did the full IB [International Baccalaureate]\u00a0program in high school and my biology teacher was amazing and I took it for two years and I just fell in love with it,\u201d said Claire Skach, a senior in biology. \u201cI did pretty good on the IB bio test, but I went to college thinking I\u2019d do chemistry.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Instead, Claire Skach gravitated to biology with pre-dental in mind.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d been interested in dentistry since sixth grade, according to her father, who, with his biochemistry background, was able to help her with chemistry homework in high school \u2014 to the jealousy of her peers \u2014 and field higher-level questions while she was in college.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always just like had an interest in teeth. I got braces when I was young, and it was like my favorite thing that I\u2019ve ever done. I just loved it,\u201d Claire Skach said. \u201cI loved my dentist when I was younger. I\u2019m interested in science, it just, everything kind of just led to that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But science wasn\u2019t the only thing on her plate. As an avid performer of rhythmic gymnastics with more than a decade of experience and two years on the United States National Team for rhythmic gymnastics \u2014 where she ranked eight in the nation \u2014 Claire Skach wanted to also pursue dance. Colleges do not offer programs for rhythmic gymnastics, according to Claire Skach.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo when I got to college, I decided that the natural extension of that would be doing dance,\u201d Claire Skach said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd rhythmic is more dance-based than normal gymnastics, we do a lot of ballet and that kind of stuff.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
She enrolled at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. for her freshman and sophomore years, but the lackluster dance opportunities got her looking elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really liked the place and the school, but after doing the dance team and taking some of their dance classes, it just didn\u2019t have as much dance as I wanted,\u201d Claire Skach said.<\/p>\n
Midway through her sophomore year, she transferred to Oregon State University, her father\u2019s alma mater.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was probably the most difficult thing I\u2019d ever done because I had to, you know, say goodbye to all my friends that I\u2019d made freshman and sophomore year,\u201d Claire Skach said.<\/p>\n
Claire Skach, a member of Kappa Alpha Theta since her Whitman days, remained involved with the sorority.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It\u2019s) amazing to bond with sisters from another school and also still participate in philanthropies and charities that my old chapter did,\u201d Claire Skach said.<\/p>\n
Participating in the sorority helped define her experience in college.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an incredible, eye-opening experience for me because I am really shy,\u201d Claire Skach said. \u201cHaving all of those sisters made me open up and take on more leadership roles and do things that I wouldn\u2019t have done around strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n
At OSU, Claire Skach \u201cstarted taking like every dance class there was, like tumbling, jazz, modern, ballroom. All the PAC classes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also auditioned for two years with the Utah Ballroom Dance Company.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was hard because I missed school and I\u2019d be gone working all weekend, but I think my gymnastics training in high school and doing full IB and everything prepared me really well to be in college and still having that very demanding extracurricular activity,\u201d Claire Skach said. \u201cThat\u2019s been like a very fun, growing, challenging experience for me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Milly Skach, Claire Skach\u2019s mother, said her daughter has great time management and multitasking abilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe always works really hard at what she does and has learned to prioritize so she can fit everything in,\u201d Milly Skach said.<\/p>\n
Claire Skach will walk Saturday, June 13.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re just so proud,\u201d Milly Skach said. \u201cShe\u2019s one in a million.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Prior to making any big decisions about her career, Claire Skach plans to take a two-week, cross-country trip to her parent\u2019s new home in Maryland and then taking a year or two to dance.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s got to decide where to work it into her life,\u201d Bill Skach said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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