Triplet Claire Shrader Receives Warm Welcome at Mississippi College

MC freshman Claire Shrader, 18, of Madison.

God helped guide Claire Shrader’s journey from Arizona to become a Mississippi College freshman.

It was really an incredible dream come true for the 18-year-old Shrader triplets.

“Honestly, only a loving God would pick three different colleges and plop me right in the middle of all of them,” Claire says. “I fell in love with the school (MC) as soon as we drove up.”

As classes begin in late August, Shrader is a Spanish major on the Clinton campus. Her brother, Mason, is studying anthropology at Millsaps College, while brother Benjamin pursues a theater degree at Belhaven University.

The story of the three college freshmen dates back to their birth as premature babies. They were born 28 weeks old, just minutes apart at the University of Chicago hospital where their father attended medical school. The triplets each weighed a little over two pounds. They stayed in the NICU unit for 10 weeks, including time on life support.

While Claire remained healthy all of her life, her two brothers were diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy after just a few months.

At an early age, life for the Shrader brothers revolved around therapy and surgeries.  There were a total of 13 surgeries for the boys. Claire remembers baking hundreds of cookies to help Mason and Benjamin cope.

As high school freshmen, the Shrader triplets teamed up on a mission trip to Buenos Aires where they helped special needs children. On that journey, Claire says she realized that God had a plan for her life.

Fast forward to 2015.

Residents of Madison, the triplets remain close as they attend three private Jackson area colleges.

Today, Mason uses crutches or power sticks along with a scooter to get around the Millsaps campus in Jackson. Benjamin lives at home, moves around via a wheelchair and commutes to Belhaven near UMMC.

The Shrader triplets believe they are blessed to be attending three metro Jackson colleges. “The rivalry has already begun,” Claire says, with a smile. “But we all know who chose the best school in the state.”

Why the move to Mississippi?

Claire’s dad, Dr. Wade Shrader accepted a position as chief of pediatric orthopedics at the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

After living ten years in Arizona, Mississippi was really home for the triplets’ parents. Wade is a native of Pontotoc and his wife, Carol, grew up in Tupelo. Both met as students at Mississippi State University.

Claire Shrader considered several schools, but her first visit to Mississippi College quickly sold her on becoming an MC Choctaw.

Her initial meeting with Beth Stapleton, who chairs the MC Department of Modern Languages, convinced her to become a freshman at the Baptist-affiliated university. “There was no way I could go to any other school.”

Her mom concurs.

“Dr. Stapleton set the bar high for every professor Claire would ever meet,” Carol Shrader says.

As day classes get ready to start on August 26, Stapleton is giving Claire high marks. “What made Claire different was her incredibly joyful spirit and passion for life,” Stapleton said. “I knew that her love of Spanish and servant heart would be a perfect fit for us.”

Shrader is among 52 Modern Languages majors on the Clinton campus this fall.

It’s not just award-winning professors like Beth Stapleton that impressed her.

The warm welcome from MC students and others in the university family has been overwhelming.

Claire was among hundreds of freshmen getting a helping hand from upper class students during their August 22 move into campus residence halls. Despite blistering summer heat as temperatures topped the 90s, move-in day went well.

Her MC education, she said, will prepare her for her career goals. The member of the Class of 2019 wants to go to occupational school after receiving her Spanish degree. She seeks to become a missionary in Argentina and other nations in Latin America.

Claire desires to return to the place where she once helped special needs families. She hopes to “walk alongside those beautiful families and remind them they’re not alone.”