HamptonRoads.com May 6, 2012 NSU triplets graduating today have great chemistry No, they don't read each other's' minds. No, if one gets hurt, the others don't feel it. But triplets Bre' Andria, Cre' Andria, and Dre' Andria Thompson are identical in more than looks. They will be among nearly 900 graduating today from Norfolk State University, and all three have earned chemistry degrees, magna cum laude. The triplets, top-notch students most of their lives, came to NSU from Memphis, Tenn., as scholars in the Dozoretz National Institute for Mathematics and Applied Sciences program. The Thompson women - whose first names appropriately rhyme with "three" - are the first triplets to graduate from the program in its more than 25-year history. The 22-year-olds have become accustomed to making memorable marks most of their lives. They said they pushed one another because they all wanted to see the others succeed. "We've always had a constructive competitiveness between us," Cre' said. Or maybe it was Bre'. "It keeps us motivated," said Cre' or, um, Dre'. The sisters have always been inseparable. In their early school years, teachers had the girls wear name tags around their necks to identify them or put them in assigned seats to keep the names straight. The triplets said their mom added another layer of intrigue by making them dress identically until they were 13. "It stopped us from squabbling about clothes," Cre' said. The girls studied together, prayed together, ran track together, played on the middle and high school basketball teams together - the triplets believe that one was wrongfully whistled for a foul during a game. Two of them unintentionally confused competitors when they ran on the same relay team. The triplets graduated in the top 10 of their East High School class: Bre' ranked third, Dre' fourth and Cre' seventh. They received scholarship offers, together, from other universities but liked NSU's science program and the family feel. "Being far from home, you have the brothers and sisters of DNIMAS," said Bre', referring to the math and science program. "It's become family." Despite many similarities, they are different. Bre' - the oldest by a minute to Cre', who is one minute older than Dre' - is the mother of the bunch, more serious. She's also the shortest at 4-foot-10. "I like to have fun, but I will handle my business first," she said. Cre', at an even 5 feet, is the one everyone calls "feisty," the more outspoken one. Dre', at 4-foot-11, is the most laid-back of the three. "Once you get to know us, we have very different personalities," they said. (But they didn't say it in unison.) As they graduate, they are looking toward different futures. Bre' and Cre' are chemistry pre-med majors, and Bre' is applying to medical school. Cre' is applying to dental school and plans to one day become an orthodontist or deal with cosmetic dentistry. Dre' plans to study toxicology and could see a future in forensics or developing cosmetics. Of course, they are applying for programs at several of the same schools, such as the University of Louisville, and could see living more individual lives. But not too much. Said Dre' - or was it Bre'? - "I don't think we'll ever separate, at least too far. I get sad just thinking about it." Denise Watson Batts,757-446-2546,denise.batts@pilotonline.com SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/2012meeting-form.html for the October 21-23, 2012 HBCU Library Alliance 5th Membership Meeting and the Photographic Preservation Pre-Conference in New Orleans, LA. The Pre-Conference and Membership meeting are open to directors and other librarians.