Twin Peaks

Two sets of twins graduate at top of class

COLUMBIA BASIN - Two sets of twins in the Columbia Basin graduated at the top of their class.

Warden High School seniors and fraternal twins Lizeth Rodriguez and Sandra Rodriguez graduated in the top 10 percent of their class on May 30.

Othello High School seniors and fraternal twins, Erica Wheeler and Michelle Wheeler, graduated with perfect grade point averages Friday as the school's two valedictorians.

Erica and Michelle's parents are Lori and Darwen Wheeler.

"We're just so proud of their accomplishments," said Lori. "They worked really hard on their grades (since) the beginning of school, and they work, they're involved in community projects, they're in softball."

Lori described the children as overachievers who like their work to be done right.

Michelle and Erica are attending the same university, to study the same major in the hopes of pursuing the same career.

They will study chemistry at Washington State University to become pharmacists.

Michelle's backup plan is physical therapy, while Erica's backup plan is genetics.

Instead of taking easy classes to achieve their 4-year goal of becoming valedictorians, the students took classes including advanced placement calculus, advanced placement literature, chemistry, biology and psychology.

Finding time to get everything done has been the biggest challenge for Michelle.

"We're involved with clubs and sports and school activities, and we work," she said.

Erica said becoming a valedictorian was challenging.

"It was difficult because we took advanced classes all four years," she said. "But just getting the homework done and studying was the main key to our success."

Another key to maintaining a perfect grade point average was the competitive nature of the sisters, Erica noted. They try to outperform one another, whether by one percentage or a tenth of a percentage, she said.

The students studied together and helped one another out. Erica is stronger in science, and Michelle is stronger in math.

Sandra and Lizeth Rodriguez agreed the biggest challenge of their high school career was avoiding procrastination. Their parents are Renoil and Maria Christina Rodriguez.

Renoil said he is proud of his children, and they worked hard.

"(Sandra) stayed over and helped (younger) kids with their homework," Renoil said.

Lizeth participated in soccer and golf, he said.

Sandra graduated with a cumulative grade point average of 3.46, and Lizeth graduated with a grade point average of 3.5.

Unlike Erica and Michelle, Lizeth and Sandra said they do not compete with one another.

They both plan to study at Washington State University, bringing with them about $10,000 each in scholarships. Sandra said she plans to study a health care related field, and Lizeth said she is not sure what she will study but is considering a career in health care.

Lizeth said it was fun taking five of seven classes with her sister.

"If I needed help, she could help me because we were in the same class," Lizeth added.

Sandra said she will most miss seeing the same faces each day in school. Lizeth said she will miss the friends and people.