Different roads, same roots: Twins from Pownal forge independent future

Amara Chester and Nick Armstrong are twins. They say that many assume they share the exact same interests—but when it came to their education and career, each followed their own path.  

They grew up in Pownal in the furthest southwest corner of the state. From a young age (thanks to a steady message from their mom), Amara and Nick knew that education could open doors for them. “Mom was clear she didn’t want us to stay in our hometown,” Nick said. “She wanted us to see the world. If we came back later, that was fine, but she wanted us to see something else first.” While their mom hadn’t gone to college herself, she encouraged the twins and their older sister to think out of their comfort zones when it came to their futures.

So they did, stretching their wings to the west coast to pursue their passions. For Amara, it’s speech pathology. For Nick, it’s an entrepreneurial approach to real estate.

Amara discovered speech pathology (and her future) in California

In high school, Amara thought she might go into the medical field because she shared the mindset of her older sister, Mariah, who became a nurse. She knew she wanted a career with strong personal connections. “I was interested in as much interpersonal interaction as possible,” she said. A human services class her high school, Mount Anthony Union in Bennington, introduced her to additional career ideas—and it included a skills test that suggested speech pathology. “I had never even heard of speech pathology before, but the more I looked into it, the more I liked the idea. I liked that it was care and support in a non-emergency setting.”

As Amara began searching for colleges, she looked for schools with three criteria: a major in communication sciences, a Christian college, and warm weather far from home. She typed one simple phrase into Google: “Christian colleges with warm weather and speech pathology.” That search led her to Biola University in California. Of the three colleges she ultimately applied to, Biola offered the strongest financial aid package, which deepened its appeal.

Amara says that Monda Kelley, an Outreach Counselor with VSAC’s Talent Search program, played a huge role in that outcome. “My entire junior and senior year I was writing scholarship applications every week,” she said. “Monda printed this big list of scholarships for me. We even found one for people who are left-handed, like me.” She remembers her mom sitting in the library during meetings and working beside her. “It was always collaborative. We would not have had that level of information without VSAC.”

Amara’s first plane ride—ever—took her to California for college. At Biola, she earned a bachelor’s degree in speech disorders and then completed her master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology. Far from home, Amara found community through the Torrey Honors program. “We had three-hour book discussions twice a week. I love reading, and that was a huge draw for me,” she said.

Today, Amara lives in Huntington Beach with her husband, Zach, and their six-month-old child. She works at a nonprofit called the Brain Rehabilitative and Injury Network, which helps people who have experienced traumatic brain injuries, strokes, or conditions like dementia. “A lot of clients have used up their insurance, and they can’t afford the therapy they still need,” she explained. “We don’t turn people away because of finances. We can give scholarships as needed.”

Her focus is cognitive therapy, helping people rebuild thinking and communication skills. And, after becoming a mom herself recently, she appreciates that her job has flexibility. “Maintaining my license is important to me, and I love being a mom. I’m trying to balance both.”

Looking back, she feels certain that VSAC made a major difference. “We were first-generation. We didn’t know the process or the culture around college. Without VSAC, I would not have known where to look for scholarships. A good chunk of my first two years was covered because of what they helped me find.”

Nick built a career through real estate and entrepreneurship

Nick’s path, although nothing like his sister’s, was similarly unique and exploratory. As a teenager, he thought he wanted to be a pharmacist. He later switched to accounting and a real turning point came when he took a marketing internship during his junior year of college. “It sounded better than the pizza job I had,” he said. “Once I started the internship at Keller Williams, I was exposed to the real estate world, and that was my ticket.”

He now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and works as a real estate broker. Nick also owns investment properties that he manages and improves himself. He learned a lot of his home improvement skills working for a general contractor when he was in high school in Vermont.

Nick also worked with VSAC Outreach Counselor Monda Kelley, and says that back in those early high school days, VSAC helped him simply get started. “VSAC was one of those opportunities you didn’t really know about until you were sitting there at the table,” he said. “The biggest thing I noticed was Monda’s desire to see us win. It didn’t matter what our plan was. It mattered that we had one and had structure behind it.”

He remembers that the applications, but especially the fees that accompany them, felt overwhelming. “The first barrier to entry is really the fees,” he said. “Something that helped me a lot was that I didn’t have to worry about that because VSAC was there.” Then the financial aid packages arrived, and he weighed them carefully. “I’ve always been very frugal. I needed a school that fit both my goals and my budget.”

The University of New Mexico offered a strong package, and Nick accepted. After college, he earned his real estate license and bought his first investment property. He now helps clients buy and sell homes, renovates properties he owns, and continues to grow his business. “Real estate is one of those things where longevity pays off,” he said. As for his future? “I want to open a property management company in the next ten years.”

Nick still remembers two adults who shaped his high school years. One was Monda, his VSAC counselor. The other was his AP Biology teacher at Mount Anthony, Mr. Cross. “He changed my perception of what college could be,” Nick said. “He would play the song ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ every morning to set the vibe. I heard it just the other day and texted it to my sister. Every time I hear it, I think about what his influence meant to me.”

Separate paths, shared support

The twins live apart now, far from their Vermont roots. Amara and Nick visit a few times a year and stay close, even as their adult lives look very different.

Both say that VSAC changed what they believed was possible after high school. “I feel very blessed to have landed where I did,” Nick said. Amara echoed the same feeling. “There were so many opportunities that I would not have known about,” she said.