High school can be a crazy adventure that can take you anywhere, and it’s often where we learn who we are outside of family. However, the benefits of having a parent work at the same school you’re going to isn’t so bad, as well.

Noah Braile and Annette Oliphant give an inside look on what their school life is like with having both of their moms teach at Liberty High School.

Annette’s mom, Ms. T.O., has worked at Liberty for about three years now but has also worked at Frontier Middle School when Annette was in middle school.

“When I was in fifth grade, I was really excited, especially since I was in elementary school and I was going to middle school,” Oliphant said. “It was great and it was basically the same thing as an eighth grader going into high school; I was kind of scared but if I was ever nervous or anything, I knew I could go to my mom’s room and she would calm me down – it was nice.”

Annette says there are benefits of having her mom with her and how she helps her out if she’s having a bad day, doesn’t feel well, or just wants to see a friendly face. Oliphant says that she gets rides to and from school everyday and how if she needs money for food and for something else, she can just pop into her mom’s room and come see her. Not only that, but Annette also loves seeing her mom around the school.

Ms. T.O. feels the same way about seeing her daughter at school and discusses how it has ultimately benefited her at Liberty as well.

“Yeah, it’s nice to know where your kid is in my building, so if I’m ever concerned about her or she isn’t feeling well or she was just having a bad, then I can go and peek in on her myself without being really obvious about it to make sure she’s okay, and you know, she just makes me feel better; she’s my buddy – my best buddy,” T.O. said.

Annette continues to say how great of a teacher her mom is, which is one of the main reasons she’s proud of her. She’s constantly hearing other students talk about how they love her and she enjoys hearing good things about her because it’s not only nice to hear, but because they’re very close.

Similarly, Noah Braile talks about what his high school experience is like with his mother who has been teaching there for a total of four years.

“It was kind of weird at first but other than that, I didn’t have a problem with it. I was pretty fine with it, actually,” Braile said.

Mrs. Braile also has a daughter attending Liberty, senior Makayla Braile, and she discusses what it was like for her daughter to be in her class, as well as having her son going to Liberty.

“I enjoy it – all of it. I don’t think Makayla or Noah mind either because they come visit me and I had my daughter in class last year, as well. She was just like another student; she was harder on herself than I could have ever been on her,” Braile said. “They also don’t get special treatment. In fact, I kind of hope people are a little bit harder on them because of that. I enjoy seeing them every single day but I certainly don’t want people to give them special treatment because I work here.”

Opposed to the stereotypical awkwardness of having a parent working at your school, it’s actually quite nice to see a familiar face and as a student, show your parents what you can do and how you can get involved with school. In the same way, teachers who are parents enjoy seeing their child thrive and experience the high school life for themselves. High school can be rough, sometimes, but it’s an amazing feeling to know who’s in your corner and who can guide you through all the madness.