not able to retrieve string from parse database with query

[postlink] https://the-best-way-of-life-is-islam.blogspot.com/2015/07/not-able-to-retrieve-string-from-parse.html [/postlink]

I'm trying to retrieve a information from a parse object but the strings I store them in keep equaling null.

Here is how I saved the object

        // get current user
        ParseObject studentClasses = new ParseObject("StudentClasses");

        // register their periods into database
        studentClasses.put("student_id", ParseUser.getCurrentUser());
        studentClasses.put("first_period", ClassSelected_Period[PERIOD1]);
        studentClasses.put("second_period", ClassSelected_Period[PERIOD2]);
        studentClasses.put("third_period", ClassSelected_Period[PERIOD3]);
        studentClasses.put("fourth_period", ClassSelected_Period[PERIOD4]);
        studentClasses.put("fifth_period", ClassSelected_Period[PERIOD5]);
        studentClasses.put("sixth_period", ClassSelected_Period[PERIOD6]);
        studentClasses.put("seventh_period", ClassSelected_Period[PERIOD7]);

        // save the information into database
        studentClasses.saveInBackground();

It saves it perfectly fine my database. The student_id is a pointer to the user and the rest of the columns are strings.

I want to retrieve all those strings and put them in an array when I query parse for them it doesn't work

Here is my query

        // query database for user's classes
        ParseQuery<ParseObject> query = ParseQuery.getQuery("StudentClasses");
        query.whereEqualTo("student_id", ParseUser.getCurrentUser());

        query.getFirstInBackground(new GetCallback<ParseObject>()
        {
            @Override
            public void done (ParseObject parseObject, ParseException e)
            {
                if (parseObject == null)
                {
                    // retrieved the object
                    userClasses[PERIOD1] = parseObject.getString("first_period");
                    userClasses[PERIOD2] = parseObject.getString("second_period");
                    userClasses[PERIOD3] = parseObject.getString("third_period");
                    userClasses[PERIOD4] = parseObject.getString("fourth_period");
                    userClasses[PERIOD5] = parseObject.getString("fifth_period");
                    userClasses[PERIOD6] = parseObject.getString("sixth_period");
                    userClasses[PERIOD7] = parseObject.getString("seventh_period");
                }
                else
                {
                    // failed lookup. Do something here
                }
            }
        });

I looked at the parse docs and it looks like it should work but it doesn't save the strings

Any help or comments is appreciated thanks!