VERNON HILLS, Ill. (WGN) — The senior class at Vernon Hills High School, in Vernon Hills, Illinois, may have locals seeing double (or triple) as several twins and even triplets are set to graduate on Thursday.
Heath and Hunter Field are among a unique group of students walking across the stage.
“There’s 12 sets of twins, one set of triplets and 27 people. That’s a lot,” Hunter said.
“It’s kind of crazy,” added student Evan Moore. “I didn’t realize we had this many twins.”
Anagha Shreesha, also a twin, thinks the occurrence is “really unique.”
Together, the 27 seniors account for about 8% of the school’s class graduating class of over 330.
“I think the neat thing about twins, in general, is they can celebrate their uniqueness in one another while also having this special bond and special comradery,” said Vernon Hills High School Principal John Guillaume.
Interstingly, Guillaume is a twin himself.
“I have a twin sister. Shoutout to Josie,” he said.
Being a twin, Guillaume added, is why he understands the thought process behind some twins deciding to stick together while others go their separate ways.
“I think they realize at some point there’s going to be this little divergence and oftentimes, the end of high school is when that is,” he said.
But the Irving triplets, who have shared 18 years together, said they’re ready to branch out.
“I decided independently where I wanted to go and it was just unique to see all of us have the same journey of applying to colleges but all going to different colleges in the end,” Olivia Irving said.
Matthew and Evan Moore said it’s about finding their own identity after years of getting confused for one another.
“Sometimes our parents and family members get it wrong, so it’s something you get used to after a while,” Evan said.
But some said they don’t want to know life without the other. The Fields twins, for instance, are both going to Illinois Wesleyan University and rooming together.
“I think having a twin your first year, knowing someone on your first day of school and living with them for the first year, kind of gives you that safety net and confidence to make new friends and kind of enjoy this new chapter of life,” Heath said.
No matter their path, twins and triplets share a special bond, and one that distance likely won’t break.
“I think the only difference is, next year there will be a lot more Facetime calls instead of text messages throughout the day to one another,” Olivia Irving said.
Despite such a large group of twins graduating from the same school in the same year, the seniors at Vernon Hills haven’t broken any sort of Guinness World Record. As WGN previously reported, New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, holds that honor, with 44 sets of twins graduating in 2018.