Every year during syllabus week, at least one of my professors will ask students to share a fun fact about themselves. My go-to? That I am a two-for-one special.
“I’m a twin, and we both go here,” I say to my peers. Compared to the people who are forklift certified, have met John Mulaney or have double-jointed shoulder blades, I always consider my fact mundane, but students never fail to gasp at the shocking revelation.
Any viewer of Disney’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” is familiar with the concept of pitting twin against twin and the struggle to maintain one’s individuality when being constantly compared to each other, so it’s understandable people may view our situation as odd. It might sound corny, but my fraternal twin Gigi and I are each other’s best friends, so going to college together was a no-brainer, and we’re not alone at GW.
There are at least six sets of twins who chose to attend GW for a variety of reasons, some of whom were actively hoping to get away from each other. But, begrudgingly, several of these dynamic duos grew to appreciate their close relationships.
Sean and Patrick
Identical twins Sean and Patrick Tajanlangit, seniors majoring in public health, said they never entertained the possibility of separating for their pivotal college years as they both applied early decision to GW for its renowned Milken Institute School of Public Health.
“It was assumed, really implied, that we would go to school together, and if we didn’t, it would be a pretty scary thing,” Sean said.
Beyond a genetic code and an obsession with playing FIFA video games, the pair both hope to become doctors. They said they have helped each other through their rigorous premedical course loads but only through Academic Integrity Council-approved means — so no switching places. The “Taj Twins” are even more focused on looking out for each other when their school work gets to be too much.
“He always checks in on me and what I’m doing in school because every once in a while, I fall apart, but it’s always nice having that support,” Sean said.
Patrick, meanwhile, compared his relationship with Sean to having a best friend and therapist rolled up into one extremely loyal package. Patrick said watching Sean mature throughout their time at University into a confident individual has been “pretty inspiring” — which he would have missed if they had attended different schools.
Frances and Peter
For freshmen fraternal twins Frances and Peter Laufer, going to GW together was an accident. The onset of the pandemic brought on a rift between the siblings as they and their parents moved from D.C. into tighter quarters with their grandmother in Charlotte, North Carolina after their father lost his job.
“We were locked in a house for about a year with just the two of us, my grandmother and parents, and that was hell,” Frances said.
Tensions ran high between the Laufer siblings as they were in each other’s space due to the pandemic and virtual learning, nearly resulting in physical fights between the two before Peter and their parents moved to St. Louis, while Frances opted to stay with her grandmother in Charlotte.
When they both accepted GW’s enrollment offers, they lived over 900 miles away from each other and were on minimal speaking terms. Neither was thrilled after they committed to GW separately but each felt it was their best option. Frances and Peter said they also hardly spoke to each other for the first two weeks of school as they settled into college. But after they got into the rhythm of GW life, they began meeting for meals and working out at the Lerner Health and Wellness Center together, growing closer as the year continued.
Frances said Peter is now a major supporter of her creative activities — a fixture in the audience for her GW Balance dance recitals and GW Comedy Nights stand-up performances while she attends his on-campus squash games.
“It’s nice to have one person that you know you can count on,” Peter said.
Pallavi and Pavani
Pallavi Dev, a senior majoring in cognitive neuroscience, almost ended up attending college on the other side of the country from her twin sister. She said she originally wanted to go to the University of California San Diego because it offers a wider variety of majors. But after touring GW’s campus, her parents convinced Pallavi to compromise and attend GW with her fraternal twin sister Pavani because they thought highly of the medicine program, and it would be more convenient for them to visit the pair.
“Our parents really wanted us to stay together despite what we wanted, and so I didn’t actually really want to go here, but she did,” Pallavi said.
Despite disagreeing about their school choice, the two are best of friends now, living in an off-campus apartment with mutual friends together. They said they frequently text each other the equivalent of a diary each day, filling the other in on everything from run-ins with mutual friends to debating their favorite moments from the show “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“It’s just nice knowing she’s here because if I want to rant about something or ask about something I can just ask her,” Pavani said.
Reese and Sophie
Reese Holtzman, a sophomore majoring in psychology, said she and her fraternal twin sister Sophie originally hoped to finally branch out of their high school bubble of shared friends and activities by going to different colleges. But they said after receiving their acceptance letters and walking around GW’s urban campus, they fell in love with the idea of going to school in D.C.
Sophie, an international affairs major, said although they each committed to the school thinking it was the right fit for them, they were disappointed to be attending the same school. She said they worried they would be in all the same organizations and classes, a repeat of their small high school experience in which there were very few options.
Sophie and Reese said they were pleasantly surprised by the independence they found in their distinct majors and subsequent diverging interests in student organizations. Sophie has become very involved with volunteering through the Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, and Reese commits her free time to Capital Peers, a student group focused on promoting health and wellness for their classmates.
“I think the fact that our majors are so separate, we never have to worry about having classes together because we’re not really taking any of the same things,” Reese said.
Despite actively joining different sororities to expand their social circles, Sophie and Reese said they gained mutual friends because of the links between Greek Life organizations. Plus, they said they now go to each other’s formals and date parties.
“I feel like it’s been nice to have each other here,” Sophie said. “Like in the off chance that we do need someone from home for something or just the feeling of home”
