DOUBLE GLORY

That 21-year-old twins Shuala and Anakai Richards attained first-class honours in their respective undergraduate programmes at The University of the West Indies, Mona, comes as no surprise to parents Dainsworth and Deonne Richards.

On Friday morning, Anakai graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering, and her sister, Shuala, will today walk across the stage to collect her Bachelor of Science in entrepreneurship with a minor in economics.

The twins' legacy-creating performance, according to their mother, is the culmination of the hard work and discipline they have displayed over the years.

“I feel blessed. Definitely grateful, and extremely proud of them,” Deonne told The Gleaner. “They worked hard and they have been disciplined and diligent ... . As parents, our job is to make sure that you get there. Get to school; everything else is covered. Do your work and do what you're supposed to do. Don't worry about anything else.”

The twins' father, Dainsworth, is a software engineer, and Deonne is an entrepreneur.

The proud mom is delighted their her daughters have decided to follow in their footsteps and “outdo” them.

“As young women, they are a standard, and if I was growing up, I would love to have been around young women like them,” she said of her daughters, who she described as calm, level-headed and enduring.

Dainsworth remembers when his daughters placed first in the region in Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) in management studies and digital media while attending Campion College, but he said that this achievement is different.

“As amazing and completely over the world as we were for that, this has a different and very special meaning and experience. It's a legacy for our family,” he said.

Dainsworth shared that he has always taken pride in supporting his daughters, who are both Royal Academy ballet dancers, in pursuit of their goals.

“It's always been paramount for me to have the opportunity. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share whatever I can share, help to line that path and guide and give them an experience that can make a big difference for them,” he said, adding that the support will continue as they transition into their professional life.

Anakai is looking forward to working in the software industry, but for now she is basking in her “big moment”.

“Getting first-class honours was a goal that I set for myself when I started, and it's very fulfilling to achieve the goal ... and walking across the stage, I just felt very good,” she told The Gleaner.

She expressed gratitude to her parents and her sister for their support.

“Every time one of us would have some doubt about how things would turn out, especially me, my sister would be like, 'Cut that out!',” she said.

Meanwhile, Shuala, who will also be awarded for graduating top of her class, said this added achievement is a “surprise”.

“It wasn't really my goal. I was just trying to do my best,” she told The Gleaner.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com