SISTER ACES
Burrillville High’s top two students are twin sisters Elizabeth and Nicole Ethier
BURRILLVILLE – Fraternal twins Elizabeth and Nicole Ethier have been competing against each other ever since they were kids. Whether it was sports, school grades or summer jobs, the two sisters were always trying to get a leg up on each other.
“We’re always trying to one-up each other, although it’s not as bad as it used to be,” says Nicole.
The relationship between twins is complicated. As individuals, they’re similar, yet they’re different.
“I think the competition between us was a reaction to constantly being compared to each other and that created a need to draw attention to ourselves as individuals,” adds Elizabeth, who says they grew up together sharing the same room and car and playing the same sports.
That friendly competition also played out in high school where they worked hard for four years to distinguish themselves as their graduating class’ top ranked students.
Elizabeth ended up with the highest grade point average of 4.4, just slightly above her sister Nicole, who walked away with a 4.3 GPA. Elizabeth has had the highest GPA in her class for all four years, while Nicole jumped from fourth highest grade point average in her class to second highest in her sophomore year.
The Ethier twins will share those academic accomplishments when they walk across the stage together during Burrillville High School’s commencement ceremony on June 8.
Elizabeth is the valedictorian and Nicole the salutatorian of the Burrillville High School Class of 2018, the first time in the school’s history that two siblings are graduating at the top of their class.
The twins, both 17, are the daughters of Steven Ethier and Dina Ethier. A third sibling, brother Steven, is a sophomore at the school.
“I never referred to them (twin daughters) as one and two, but 1A and 1B,” quipped their dad, Steven.
Having gone through their entire public education alongside one another, the twins are looking forward to sharing the stage as commencement speakers.
“We debated whether to do a speech together, but decided to give separate speeches because even though we’re twins and share a close bond, we’re still individuals,” says Nicole.
Elizabeth and Nicole are both mem- bers of the National Honor Society, Students Council, Civics, DECA and Varsity Athletes Against Substance Abuse (VARSA).
They also played the same sports, including soccer and basketball and lacrosse, and were captains of their teams during their senior year. They were also both volunteers for the Unified Basketball Team, which joins kids with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team.
They also played soccer outside of school and helped coach young players in the Burrillville/Glocester Youth Soccer Association.
Both Elizabeth and Nicole volunteer as counselors at Camp Ker-Anna in Cumberland.
“Both Liz and Nicole are great students and ambassadors for Burrillville High School,” said Burrillville High School Principal Michael Whaley. “They have consistently challenged themselves and achieved excellence in the classroom. They have pushed one another, been there for each other and really been a positive force at the high school.”
Elizabeth will attend Northeastern University in the fall and she plans to major in behavioral neuroscience, while Nicole is heading to Boston College to pursue a degree in biology and premedicine with a goal of going to medical school.
“We’ll both be in Boston and only 10 minutes away from each other so we’ll still get to spend time together when we can,” says Elizabeth.
The twins are well aware that they have made history at Burrillville High School, saying teachers and their classmates are buzzing over the fact that they are giving graduation speeches together on stage.
“A lot of the teachers think it’s cool that this is the first time in the school’s history that twins are delivering the valedictorian and salutatorian addresses at commencement,” says Nicole. “We think its pretty cool, too.”