As highly competitive high school athletes, Charlotte and Mason Flynn weren't the closest of twins, perhaps even in their own house.
At St. Ambrose, even family grows closer.
"I guess we butted heads a little bit in high school but he kind of took me under his wing our freshman year at Ambrose," Charlotte remembered. "I had the basketball team and he had the football team but it gets lonely a little bit. It was nice to have him near, freshman year especially. We became so much closer and we've been pretty much inseparable since. If I can't see him for a week or so, I'll call him and we'll meet for dinner or something."
Charlotte and Mason are the second set of twins born to Angela and Paul Flynn of Dubuque, Iowa. Their older brother and sister went to different schools. Charlotte chose SAU after Mason made his decision.
When Mason was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma in December of their sophomore year, Charlotte's extended St. Ambrose family rallied to her side and to Mason's cause. T-shirt sales during an annual cancer awareness home game helped defray family medical expenses.
"We sold a lot of t-shirts," Charlotte said. "It was tough being away from him but it was nice to know I had a family at Ambrose."
Mason's positivity and toughness while fighting the disease was evidenced by the fact he completed the RAGBRAI weeklong bicycle ride across Iowa less than a month after his final chemotherapy treatment.
"He came out on top sooner than we thought he would," Charlotte said. "He's pretty amazing."
Mason was back on campus by August of 2018 and quickly began working to ensure he'd graduate on time along with his twin.
"We both graduated high school together and we'd been with each other through everything," he said. "I just wanted to close this last chapter with her."
The Flynn twins graduated cum laude on May 9, Mason with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Sales. Charlotte graduated having completed three majors, management, marketing and business sales.
Turns out his sister was Mason's first successful sale. He encouraged Charlotte to take a few sales courses and, she said, "Before I knew it I was able to triple major."
Mason never doubted Charlotte could handle anything she took on.
"She's awesome," he said. "I'd like to say I can compete with her on the scholastic portion of things but she really knocks it out of the park. I'm really going to be interested to see where she takes her talents."
Charlotte isn't sure where her multi-faceted SAU education will lead in terms of a career. But she's confident something great awaits beyond the uncertainty of the moment. Her resume will be bolstered by her status as a two-time all-NAIA Scholar-Athlete and three-time member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference all-conference academic squad. She started 49 games in her SAU basketball career and enjoyed every minute of her experience.
"If I could do it over, I'd do it 10 times," she said of the hard work, long hours of practice and endless joy she found in being a SAU athlete. "I met so many of my best friends. It is definitely a family at Ambrose. It's definitely a great community to be a part of. But then when you are in athletics and in extracurricular activities, it's even better."
Mason gave up football after his sophomore year, but promptly joined the SAU rugby club team and continued a passion for bicycling he developed while maintaining his fitness level during chemotherapy.
With his cancer in remission since his final treatment in June of 2017, Mason was able to catch up with the semester of classes he missed. He took on 18 credit hours each semester and added summer courses. In fact, he completed his core courses last semester and was able to study abroad in Australia this winter and still graduate in four years.
He will certainly pursue a career in business sales. The introduction of the first sales major program in Iowa just as he enrolled at the university was a case of perfect timing. "To be in that first group to go through all four years of the sales program was one of the best decisions I've made in my life," he said.
Coming to St. Ambrose with his twin was a good call, as well.
"We always challenged each other growing up," Mason said of Charlotte. "Once we got to college, we just kind of found out what we were both passionate about and challenged each other to pursue those passions. We really got the opportunity to build each other up and became really good friends. That's part of growing up - learning to appreciate those around you."
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