Renee and Tristan Irey are more than just mother and son.

They’re also classmates and lab partners.

“I’ve always been very close with both my boys,” Renee Irey said. “I have a good relationship with both of them.”

Her other son, Shane, is in the Air Force.

Renee Irey, 51, is a graduate student working toward her bachelor’s degree in health care administration. She and her youngest son, Tristan, a senior majoring in pre-physical therapy who is taking a semester off, have taken classes together.

“It’s really funny because a lot of the teachers are really hesitant about having a parent-child in class together,” she said. “Then it ended up working really well. We get along well. We sat next to each other.”

Renee Irey said her son got a B, and she got a C in their anatomy class.

“That wasn’t too cool,” she said.

When Tristan Irey decided to move onto campus, he convinced his mom to come with him.

“He pushed me,” Renee Irey said. “He said, ‘Your kids are grown, you aren’t taking care of us anymore, and you’ve been wanting to change your career. Now is the time to do it.’”

Renee Irey said she didn’t want to drive from Scottsville, where they live with her parents, so she decided to live on campus too. She ended up on the 21st floor of Pearce-Ford Tower, and he was on the 18th floor.

“He’d run up and rob my refrigerator,” Renee Irey. “I would buy groceries, and he’d run up and say, ‘Do you have toast, do you have coffee made?’”

After living a year in PFT, Renee Irey decided to apply for a position as a resident assistant.

“I never thought I would get picked because of my age,” she said. “I ended up having two hall directors pick me. They had to go in and actually sit across from each other at a table and say why I would fit in at their residence hall better than the other one. I was shocked when I found out. I was like, ‘They fought over me?’”

Renee Irey is now in her third year as an RA in Bates-Runner Hall.

“I love Bates. I love being an RA,” she said. “When my kids were growing up, my house was the house where everyone came over and hung out. And I loved it. I always wanted four to six kids. I got two, so I just made up for it with all their friends.”

Kevin Blanch, Bates residence hall director, said having a diverse staff offers more perspectives for students looking for advice.

“Renee has a lifetime of experience to share,” he said.

Tristan Irey said he was glad to have his mom nearby.

“It’s always cool to have your mom on campus to talk to or study with,” he said. “We’re both kind of in the medical field, so we take a lot of the same classes and help each other out.”

Having his mom on campus has had other advantages as well.

“I’ve picked him and his friends up from parties before,” Renee Irey said. “I was young, I know people go out and drink. I told them don’t drink and drive. I’d rather have you call me. I don’t care if they have to crawl into the car, just as long as they are safe.”

Renee Irey said she’s always liked having her kids around.

“I was never one of those moms who you hear say, ‘When you turn 18 you’re out of here,’” she said. “I never felt that way.”