Twin sisters, Tia and Tyra Smith have emerged as the best-graduating student of Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Chicago after scoring a matching 4.0 cumulative grade point. They both received full scholarships to different universities in the United States.
Tia and Tyra Smith are 18-year-old Chicago-based identical twins who attended Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Chicago in the United States. They were both named the high school valedictorian after scoring the highest cumulative grade point in their graduating class.
The Smith twin sisters both gave a combined graduating speech at their graduation ceremony.
“I was glad it was both of us, We really worked together in order to be where we were. It was the last thing we could do together in school before we have to leave each other,” Tyra said.
In high school, Tyra said her favorite courses were biotechnology and problem-based learning math while Tia enjoyed human geography and U.S. history. Aside from their academic achievements, the Smith twins were involved in different extracurricular activities, such as their school’s gallery club.
They were also the ones who started their school’s first-ever black history art gallery titled ”More Than 28”.
The identical twins share the same interest and love for theater. They recently collaborated with a healthcare company, Baxter International Disease that helps create a community awareness campaign for kidney disease. They also presented a community awareness campaign for kidney disease at the STEM Challenge Showcase in Illinois.
They also did the screenwriting for a special episode of the show “Black-ish”.
“Theater 1 has been the most rewarding and the most influential in shaping the person I am today,” Tia said.
Commenting on their achievement, the twin’s mother, Lemi-Ola Erinkitola described the moment as an emotional one. She also said she’s excited the twins will be sharing their memories of success together.
“Typically what we’ve seen is one valedictorian,I was glad because they’re going to separate colleges and it put a nice, finishing touch on their years together academically,’’ Erinkitola said.
“It was very, very emotional and goes beyond just the title, It was the fact they can share that platform together and a memory they can carry throughout their journeys in life,” she added.
The twins said they will both nurture their interests in theatre at the university.Tyra will attend Northwestern University to major in theatre and economics, while Tia will attend Duke University to major in theatre and statistics.
