Growing up with siblings, people are given automatic best friends and opportunity to experience different perspectives. For senior Vivian Aeder and freshman Charlotte Aeder, one club, Westford Academy Broadcasting (WABC), has been a new learning experience for both of them.

WABC is the group of people who are responsible for the morning announcements, broadcasting messages sent to them by the WA community. The Aeder sisters are two of the crew’s members.

“I had heard of the club back in middle school and it stuck out to me as something I wanted to try,” Vivian Aeder said. “I don’t really know what drew me towards it but I wanted to try something new.”

Vivian Aeder joined the club in her freshman year, but didn’t have any prior experience with school announcements before that. However, she had done theater in middle school, which struck her as similar to anchoring on WABC. She convinced her sister Charlotte to join, mainly because many old members had already graduated.

“I remember shaking from nerves in the anchoring chair because I was so nervous the very first time I did it,” Vivian Aeder said. “Now it just seems natural and no longer intimidating.”

Because anchoring can be intimidating, the Aeder sisters have made mistakes while doing the announcements.

“There are some mistakes that we can fix and some that we can’t,” Charlotte Aeder said. “If an anchor stumbles on their words, we just have to keep going.”

While Vivian Aeder enjoys anchoring, Charlotte Aeder was reluctant to try it at first, even though Vivian Aeder had secretly wanted to co-anchor with her sister.

“[Charlotte] expressed to me how she wouldn’t be caught dead anchoring, and I respected that,” Vivian Aeder said. “She eventually changed her mind […], and one day I asked her if she wanted to co-anchor and she agreed.”

Now, the sisters anchor together. Once Charlotte Aeder tried it, she got used to reading the announcements.

In the end, being part of the WABC team has helped both sisters grow and learn new things, such as public speaking, teamwork, and leadership. Even more, the Aeder sisters have learned many things from each other.

“Charlotte does so many activities that she thrives in, such as crew, swim, WABC, academics, et cetera,” Vivian Aeder said. “She does a very good job at managing her time and even makes sure she gets eight hours of sleep every night.”

Both sisters have enjoyed working together on the WABC team. Charlotte Aeder said that both sisters are often told by peers that their brother should join them at WABC.

“I have really enjoyed having Charlotte be a part of the WABC crew,” Vivian Aeder said. “It is pretty awesome getting the opportunity to share an experience I have been a part of for my high school career with my sister. I have also really enjoyed seeing my sister step out of her shell […]. I’m really proud of what she has accomplished.”