Not only do twins Alexander and Kenrick Rilee share the same appearance, they also are both dedicated to learning, as evident by their numerous Advanced Placement courses, extracurricular activities and internships.
The Rilee twins, 17, of Lanham graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School on June 5 as valedictorian and salutatorian. Both were in the Greenbelt school's Science and Technology Program and will attend Princeton University in the fall.
Besides taking 13 AP courses, including calculus, physics and chemistry, and testing out of two more, Kenrick was also on the InvenTeam, Computer Programming Team, Mock Trial Team, Pep Band and Swim Team. Kenrick is also completing a research internship at NASA Goddard in Greenbelt, where he programs and tests software.
"It's really not that bad having taken all the Advanced Placement Courses," Kenrick said. "You get good at multi-tasking. Plus, you get more difficult work, but not as much of it."
Alexander also took numerous AP courses, 17 in total, tested out of four AP courses and participated in the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam, Robotics Club, Computer Programming Team, Mock Trial Team, Pep Band, and Varsity Swim Team. He also had an internship at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.
U.S. History teacher Julian Lord is the sponsor for the Mock Trial Team, a club that both boys were involved in during their entire high school career.
"They're always been very smart, funny kids, but the amount of growth they've experienced [since entering high school] is amazing," Lord said. "I was always impressed that they were able to dedicate themselves the way they did, because they were involved in so many activities."
"Some classes and programs have helped more than others," Alexander said. "I enjoyed organic chemistry in my junior year because it had a lot of labs, and I also enjoyed Calculus 3."
Overall, managing coursework, extracurricular activities and an internship was "not that hard," Alexander said.
"Aside from the actual coursework, my classes have given me a well-rounded view on how all the subjects work together," Kenrick said.
Part of their dedication to education has come from their mother, Yau-Jong Twu, who teaches AP Physics B and C at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.
Both Kenrick and Alexander took AP Physics C with Twu as juniors, though they were in different periods and "were probably a lot quieter in my class than they were in other classes," Twu said.
The Rilees' older brother, Kynan, graduated as salutatorian from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in 2008 and is currently attending Princeton University in New Jersey. Following in the footsteps of their older brother, Alexander and Kenrick will also attend Princeton.
"I'm certainly proud of them," Twu said. "They are very nice kids. I'm lucky that they take care of their things and I don't have to worry. They like to challenge themselves."
E-mail Jordan Attebury at jattebury@gazette.net.
