Twin students in Milwaukee have been awarded more than $1 million in scholarships, even with the coronavirus impacting schools and graduations.
The 18-year-old girls, Arianna and Arielle Williams, are the top students in their class at Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy, CBS 58 reported.
Arianna is graduating first in her class with a 3.77 grade point average and Arielle is graduating second with a 3.76 GPA, "Good Morning America" reported. The two are waiting for the final word from their school about who is valedictorian and who is salutatorian.
"We are very proud of Arielle and Arianna and the Williams family," Fuller Academy Principal Judith Parker told "GMA." "We are excited to support our scholars to and through college, and we instill in them that every child has the potential to learn, achieve and to be great."
The twins were accepted into more than 38 colleges, including LSU, Xavier University, Mississippi State University and Kent State University.
“We’ve always been those overachievers throughout school, period,” said Arielle, the oldest of the pair by two minutes.
“We never wanted to do the basic,” Arianna told CBS 58. “We always wanted to go above and do beyond that.”
In school, Arianna and Arielle have been actively involved in extracurricular activities, including the Black Student Union and National Honor Society, WISN reported. They also had mentors who supported them despite the shutdown of school and other activities amid the coronavirus, and they worked part-time jobs at Walmart.
“My school played a big part -- they nurtured us to college,” Arielle said. “Even though we shut down, it’s never stopped. Mentors reached out calling, texting, whatever it takes.”
The sisters decided to attend Marquette University, which is close to home. They will study nursing after caring for their father, who was sick with pneumonia and had a stroke, “GMA” reported.
“Tuition is pretty much covered there,” Arianna said. “We got accepted into the EOP Program (Educational Opportunity Program) and directly into the nursing program.”
The sisters tell others hoping to do the same to work hard.
“Do not be lazy,” Arianna said. “Do the most. Go above and beyond.”
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