As schools across the Washington area hold graduation ceremonies, Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, is making headlines after revealing that 20 of its roughly 600 graduating class are identical or fraternal twins.
“It’s incredible to think that we grew up with so many friends and didn’t realize that there were so many twins,” said Andrew Beckman, a fraternal twin who is one of the graduates. Niles and Victoria Brown were among the fraternal twins who walked the stage at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Centre in College Park during the commencement ceremony on Tuesday. But because they were fraternal twins, many didn’t even realize they were siblings.
Irrespective twins Andrew and Alena Beckman competed in high school, but they were also each other’s closest supporters. “We competed with each other, but we also helped each other out,” Alena says. “I was bad at physics, and Andrew was good. He helped me with my physics homework, and I helped him with his essays.”
Some of the twin’s plan to attend the same college. Identical twin sisters Taylor and Maria Gomez will attend the University of Pittsburgh together in the fall. “A lot of my friends are worried because they’re going to college out of state this August and they don’t know anyone, but my twins are going to the same college and we have each other to lean on,” Maria says.
Meanwhile, some twins are parting ways for the first time in 18 years. Andrew will attend North Carolina State University, and Alena will attend Vanderbilt University. “I’m really nervous and tearful,” Andrew says. “I think we’ll call each other often. I’ll think more positively, but there’s definitely a big change ahead,” said Alena.