Anchorage, Alaska
Brothers Konaa and Baahii Tallman have a lot in common, including the fact that they both excel in math. And, with the help of ANSEP, they will both have college credits under their belts before graduating high school.
Konaa and Baahii are the middle siblings. Their older sister Nassha was the first Tallman to join the ANSEP program, and they inspired their younger brother Deya to apply for ANSEP, as well. All four siblings started with the Middle School Academy and are progressing through the ANSEP pipeline.
“It was nice to go to ANSEP with someone I knew, since I was the youngest one there,” said Baahii about his brother Konaa. Baahii will enter his second year of Acceleration Academy this summer and is looking forward to reconnecting with his ANSEP friends from last summer as well as earning more college credits.
Konaa, a student at Anchorage’s Dimond High School, will have a chance this summer to finish his minor in mathematics at University of Alaska Anchorage through ANSEP’s Acceleration High School component. Baahii’s credits ANSEP and his grandfather Mike Lestenkof for inspiring him to become an engineer.
When asked what advice they’d give to their youngest sibling Deya, both Baahii and Konaa reiterated the importance of staying focused.
“Stay focused on your classes,” said Baahii.
“Don’t forget how important this is and what a great opportunity ANSEP is,” added Konnaa.
With the help of ANSEP and the constant support of their mother Desiree, the entire Tallman clan is headed toward successful careers. Baahii and Konaa both have plans to apply to Ivy League schools once they graduate from Dimond High School, and they hope their ANSEP education will give them what it takes to stand out in the crowd. No matter where they attend university, they know that they will be prepared both academically and socially thanks to their time spent with ANSEP on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus.
