NDA Twins Make College Decisions

Twins Choose to Attend Different Universities

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As if leaving friends behind when graduating from high school isn’t enough, imagine having to part from the one person you’ve been with since birth: your twin.

“It will be a lot different going to different colleges, that’s for sure,” senior Jessie Staed said about her twin Jacque. “We won’t see each other every day like we have for the past 18 years.”

Though things will be different, Jessie says she and Jacque have to be ready for the change. “We can’t just sit still and wait for things to turn back the way they were,” she said. “We have to move with the change, no matter what direction it takes us.”

Jessie is planning on attending Loyola University of Chicago and Jacque is undecided so far. “I picked Loyola because of their great education program and I was also offered a scholarship by the golf coach, Kyle Stefan,” Jessie said.

Jessie verbally committed to Loyola Friday, October 11, prior to the state tournament on Monday and Tuesday.

Throughout the college selection, Jessie and Jacque went on several college visits together. “We visited Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio, University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Iowa University,” Jessie said. “I think from the beginning I knew I wanted to go to a different college than Jacque, and I knew that we would probably end up going to different colleges.”

Although Jessie knew she and Jacque would most likely split up for college, Jacque wasn’t so sure. “Jacque wanted to go to the same college as me in the beginning, but since a couple months have passed, she has changed her mind and accepted the fact that we won’t always be together,” Jessie said.

Although Jacque has changed her mind, Jessie insists that Jacque didn’t affect where she wanted to go to school. “I don’t think I affected her decision either,” she added.

According to Jessie, she and Jacque are “very close.” “I wouldn’t say we tell each other everything,” she said, “but we know just enough about each other as any twins would know.”

Jacque and Jessie say they couldn’t have been so successful in high school without the support of their family. “We just wanted to thank our mom and dad in supporting us every step of the way through our high school careers,” they said.

“We also want to give a big shout-out to our sister Stephanie for putting up with us for 16 years. You have come to many if not all of our golf and soccer events and we are truly thankful for that.”

“We will miss you, mom and dad, and we will always be praying for you guys,” they added.

Besides their family, the Staeds also have one other person they would like to thank: their golf coach, Brian Bobinski. “He has been an excellent coach the past four years and we couldn’t ask for any better coach,” they said. “I know that we were sometimes a pain to deal with, but you were supportive the whole way through and we thank you for that.”

Another set of senior twins, Sam and Sydney Hermes, are also planning on attending different colleges.

“I’m planning on hopefully going to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago or the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design,” Sydney said. “I want to major in graphic/communication design.”

“I chose these schools as my top choices because they are well known throughout the country and yet still close enough that I can return home when I want,” she added.

Sam, on the other hand, is planning on attending the University of Alabama and majoring in German and doing NROTC. “’Bama’s a darn nice school,” he said.

Though they didn’t tour any colleges together, the Hermes did both consider University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We both applied there, but we have different visions for what we want to do,” Sydney said.

The Hermes both said that where their twin was going did not affect their decision. “We both are such different people that I think we knew we wouldn’t end up going to the same college,” Sydney said.

“[Where Sydney was planning on attending] didn’t affect my decision one way or the other,” Sam said.

Being apart doesn’t seem like it will be much of a problem for these twins. “It will be strange at first, but because we aren’t really close, I don’t think it’ll be a problem.” Sydney said.

“It’ll be fun,” Sam added.

So whether these twins are super close like the Staeds, or not so much like the Hermes, they seem to be ready for whatever the future has in store.

Sam seems particularly excited about his decision. “Roll Tide roll!” he said.