Wednesday, May 23, 2001
|
Wednesday, May 23, 2001 |
|
Matwicks pack 1-2 punch Twins take top two honors at Starr's MillBy MONROE
ROARK
Keri and Kelsi Matwick have been understandably difficult for teachers and students to tell apart during their years at Starr's Mill High School. This Friday, the identical twins will be easy to identify. They'll be the ones on the podium when the speeches are given and the top students are recognized. In a rare double-whammy for a single family, the Matwicks are taking home the top two academic spots in the 320-plus graduating class at Starr's Mill this year. Keri is valedictorian by about 1/10th of a grade point over her sister, with both girls scoring over 99 out of a possible 100 for all of their subjects since ninth grade. Over that four-year span, Kelsi was first in the class for three semesters and Keri held the lead the rest of the time. The pair has set a remarkable standard for Starr's Mill, as their class is only the second to graduate from the school and the first to attend four full years. The Matwicks have spent most of their school years in Fayette County, starting with the second grade at Braelinn Elementary (that school's first year of operation) and going on to Whitewater Middle. Their senior year, however, has been unique. They were part of a group of 68 students from across the state enrolled in the Advanced Academy at the State University of West Georgia. In this special program, students retain enrollment in their regular high schools as well, but they live on the university's Carrollton campus and attend college-level classes taught by professors in core subjects as well as advanced electives. Two of the Matwicks' classes this year were college sophomore-level English literature and junior-level Spanish. This came on the heels of their participation in the Governors' Honors Program, a six-week event conducted each summer at Valdosta State University, giving exceptional students an opportunity to experience new opportunities in a college setting. Despite being away from their own high school most of the year, the girls have no regrets about their choice. They have gotten the most out of their high school experience, they said, having participated in a number of extracurricular activities their first three years, and both felt the move was a good one. Their interests outside the classroom have stretched to athletics and music. Both competed in cross-country and tennis at Starr's Mill. Keri also plays the violin and Kelsi the piano, and the two often perform together. They have excelled in most of their school pursuits as a team, demonstrating a unique bond often seen in identical twins, and they plan to take the next step together to the University of Notre Dame, where both are attending on Air Force ROTC scholarships. A four-year Air Force commitment will follow, at which time they expect to go their separate ways. Their military influence has been a lifelong one. The girls' father was an officer in the Air Force, and their older brother, a Sandy Creek alumnus, is graduating this month from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs third in his class. "We finished 1-2-3 this year," laughed Ann Matwick, the proud mom. Reflecting on her daughters' outstanding high school career, Ann gave a great deal of credit to the top-notch instruction they received. "There are a lot of great teachers at Starr's Mill," she said. "They [Keri and Kelsi] really worked hard together to finish ahead of the other kids," she continued. "There was never much competition between them." She also credited the girls' endurance, comparing their four-year effort to a marathon. "I saw some stress," she said. "But they handled it well." After Friday's graduation ceremonies both girls prepared their remarks weeks ago, a practice their mother said was typical of them Keri and Kelsi will rest for a little while before taking off for Paris in July. There, they will spend six weeks studying French and art in a program offered through West Georgia. The professors in this program are all from the state of Georgia, but they will be living in a dorm with students from dozens of other countries. Having lived overseas during their father's Air Force career and traveled extensively since, both have expressed a keen interest in languages, which they expect to utilize throughout their careers. While answering questions about themselves promptly and confidently, they made it difficult for this reporter to track exactly what Keri said and what Kelsi said. But both have laid the groundwork to earn distinction in whatever field each of these remarkable young ladies chooses to pursue.
|
||