Fraternal twins Stephanie and Jestann O’Hara aren’t your typical duo.
Yes, these Kent-Meridian seniors can finish each other’s sentences. And yes, their personalities are similar. But when it comes down to what they really love, both girls are on the opposite ends of the spectrum.
“I was considered the girlie girl when I was in elementary school,” Stephanie said, “and (Jestann) was more of the tom boy. It switched as we got older. She started to wear makeup in middle school, and I didn’t really care for it.”
Stephanie runs track. Jestann prefers the arts. Stephanie qualified for state in last week’s West Central District track meet in the girl’s 400-meter dash and 400 relay while Jestann won a gambling awareness poster contest with a $250 prize and played Kim MacAfee in the school’s rendition of “Bye Bye Birdie”.
Although growing up side by side, these girls didn’t turn out to be carbon copies of the other, not by any means.
But the one place both girls know they can come together – besides the dorm room they’ll share this fall – is on the soccer field where they will play NCAA Division II soccer at Central Washington University.
When picking schools, the girls wanted to attend the same university to make the transition from high school to college a little easier.
“I think the idea of being that far away from home and not having somebody (would scare) me,” Jestann said. “(Stephanie) is my best friend, and I couldn’t ask for anyone better to have in my life and go to college with.”
While the girls see attending the same university as a positive, others can be more critical of them trying to be too much alike.
“It’s interesting because people will be like ‘you guys don’t want to do everything together. It’s like you’re the same person. Go out and experience things by yourself,'” Stephanie said. “But we enjoy each other’s company. It’s a good bonding experience, and we’re able to grow individually by being together. We don’t need to be separate to do that.”
Both girls were awarded merit scholarships through the university to play soccer. And even though Stephanie wants to major in elementary education, and Jestann wants to work toward a business management degree, both girls like knowing the other will be there to keep her accountable and on track in college.
“We’ll go off and do our separate things, but we need to make sure we keep each other on the same track,” Jestann said.
Stephanie feels the same.
“Obviously we’ll have soccer practices together,” she said. “(But) I think it will just be the same sense again: we’re together, but we’ll be able to do our own individual thing. It’s definitely going to be a new chapter in our lives, and I keep looking forward to it.”
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