The University of Kentucky has drawn an enormous amount of attention this year. Aside from the usual “Big Blue” madness, the quests for an undefeated season and a ninth National Championship have ignited an even stronger passion for the beloved Cats. Helping to lead the way toward a record-setting season are Andrew and Aaron Harrison. Although, when The Today Show recently visited the UK campus and NBC correspondent Kevin Tibbles sat down with Andrew and Aaron, it had little to do with their game. The undefeated season is not the only record that the Harrisons and the university are able to play a part in this year; the university also boasts the largest number of twins and multiples in attendance in school history. Out of twenty-two thousand students, there are one hundred thirteen sets of twins, one set of triplets, and one group of quadruplets.
One of those sets of twins is Jessica and Rachel Holland. Jessica and Rachel graduated from Daviess County High School in 2014 and are freshmen this year at the University of Kentucky. Growing up, the girls were like most twins. They wore similar outfits in coordinating colors, were in different elementary school classes, and were often mistaken for each other. When asked, they will undoubtedly tell you that, although they prefer being referred to by name, and not as the twins, “We love being twins…We consider ourselves best friends.” Rachel and Jessica find comfort in the fact that they have always had someone else in their life to play and compete with. Although they don’t put any stock in “twin telepathy,” they do feel that the connection they share has helped them to read and anticipate each other well enough to attribute to not only their high school basketball, but overall success.
“Our parents have always made sure that we didn’t feel like a unit—they made sure we felt like individuals.”
-Rachel Holland
Jessica and Rachel did not make the decision to go to UK until April of last year, but they always knew that they wanted to go to college together. At college, the girls continue to share most everything: a car, a dorm room, laundry duty, and a class or two “to make it easier on ourselves.” The transition to college, and a different choice in majors, has afforded them the opportunity to be a little more independent and “come out of their shell some.” Even though the two girls have selected separate majors, their hearts for children appear to be similar. Jessica, who tends to be a little more of the serious one, is currently a kinesiology major who has her sights set on medical school in order to be a pediatrician. Rachel, who is admittedly a little more of the outgoing and funny one, wants to be an elementary school teacher. After college, Rachel wants to move back to Owensboro, but Jessica doesn’t want to be too far away. Both girls agree that they want to be close enough to see each other and raise their families near one another.
With such a strong relationship and a successful year so far at the University of Kentucky, the girls were quick to respond when they received a mass email from the university’s public relations department to all of the twins and multiples in attendance. The email informed the twins of The Today Show visit and listed a time, date, and location for the students to meet for the video shoot. The girls said that the entire shoot with the group only took about forty minutes, with a few outside interviews. The coverage, that aired nationwide on February 17, 2015 at 8:00 a.m., was not a complete representation of all the twins on campus, as they were not all present. Of the experience, the girls said that “it was really cool to be on The Today Show” and “to be surrounded by other twins.” Jessica actually said that she was shocked to find out that a girl in her biology class was a twin, but she didn’t realize it until she saw her at the shoot. As to all of the twins on campus, Jessica and Rachel said, “We see twins everywhere.” There actually happens to be another set of twins on their dorm floor. But as far as having twins to hang out with, they really don’t have any close friends that are twins. They actually love the idea of it though. “We wish we were (friends with other twins). We just think that it would be really cool to be able to share our experiences with them.”
For the full article and video coverage on The University of Kentucky twins and multiples, visit http://www.today.com/news/seeing-double-university-kentucky-has-113-sets-twins-2D80496229
[tw-divider]Twice as Nice[/tw-divider]
- Last year there were 132, 324 twins born in the United States.
- Out of every 1,000 births, approximately 33 are twins.
- Fraternal twins are more common than identical twins, and can also be hereditary.
- Identical twins, although often very similar in appearance, do not have the same fingerprints.
