Tia and Tyra Smith
West Englewood, IL — Twin sisters Tia and Tyra Smith recently shared the honor of being the valedictorians at Lindblom Math and Science Academy right outside of Chicago after they both received the highest grade of 4.0 GPA in their class. Both of them earned a perfect GPA even in their combined 12 Advanced Placement courses.“I was glad it was both of us,” Tyra told Good Morning America. “We really worked together in order to be where we were. It was the last thing we could do together in school before we have to leave each other.”
During high school, Tyra’s favorite courses were biotechnology and problem-based learning math. On the other hand, Tia enjoyed human geography and U.S. history. Aside from their academic achievements, they were also the one’s who started their school’s first-ever black history art gallery titled More Than 28.
The identical twins also share their love for theater. They have recently collaborated with health care company Baxter International disease wherein they helped create a community awareness campaign for kidney disease. They did the screenwriting for a special episode of the show “Black-ish”.
“Theater 1 has been the most rewarding and the most influential in shaping the person I am today,” Tia said.
Moreover, Tia and Tyra will both major in theater in college but now in separate colleges. Tyra will attend Northwestern University to study theater and economics while Tia will attend Duke University to study theater and statistics. Both received full-ride scholarships.
Their mother Lemi-Ola Erinkitola said it was indeed a proud moment for her daughters. She said, “I was glad because they’re going to separate colleges and it put a nice, finishing touch on their years together academically. It was very, very emotional and goes beyond just the title. It was the fact they can share that platform together and a memory they can carry throughout their journeys in life.”