A member of the Fresno State club men’s rugby team stopped twins Jacob and Jeremiah Schwesinger and their father during Dog Days student orientation in June.
“Are you a student?” the rugby player asked dad Carl Schwesinger, 47, who proudly wore a red Fresno State T-shirt and baseball cap. He answered yes. “You’re too old,” the rugby player said.
All three Schwesingers graduated from Merced College in May — the twins received their associates degrees a week before their high school diplomas — and transferred to Fresno State where each will begin a journey to finish their undergraduate degrees.
Carl will major in communicative studies to pursue a career in speech pathology. The rugby player asked if Carl wanted to play. “You’ve got a rugby body,” he said.
The trio laugh about the encounter during their first trip to Fresno State together where they said they were awed by the size and beauty of campus and excited for what’s to come — football games, campus life and dad occasionally crashing on the boys’ off-campus sofa when he commutes to town for class. They picked Fresno State for its proximity to their home in Merced, for its affordability and for the programs they are interested in.
The twins want to work with animals so they will both major in animal sciences and ag education. But first, they will attend boot camp this fall for the National Guard. Jacob left this week to train as an aviation mechanic. He will begin his studies at Fresno State in spring or fall 2024. Jeremiah leaves Oct. 3 to train as a chaplain assistant and will start at Fresno State in fall 2024.
“I want to be able to serve my country,” Jacob said. The National Guard “allows you to serve your country and go to college at the same time.”
The twins have been on a fast educational track since the end of middle school when they told their parents they wanted to take college classes while in high school. They were able to take courses through Merced College with their father.
Carl had plans to study business in college, but life had different plans — a new baby for the young entrepreneur and his girlfriend, who is now his wife. He pushed school to the side and went to work to support his family, which includes two older daughters before the twins were born. He bought and operated two pizza restaurants before going to work for a food service company that had a program to help employees go back to school and earn their degrees.
He enrolled at Merced College alongside his boys, taking two to three classes together, including statistics.
“When I couldn’t get a problem he’d help me, when he didn’t get a problem I’d help him,” Jacob said. “It’s mutual understanding and just really nice to have family in [class together].”
Carl jumps in to say that the college experience with his sons was another way they could connect. “We’ve done some Spartan races together, hikes and different things … It’s always nice when you can connect with your kids on different levels, so it was great.”
