Keri and Kelsi

Matwick have been understandably difficult for teachers and students to

tell apart during their years at Starr's Mill High School.

This Friday,

the identical twins will be easy to identify. They'll be the ones on the

podium when the speeches are given and the top students are recognized.

In a rare double-whammy

for a single family, the Matwicks are taking home the top two academic

spots in the 320-plus graduating class at Starr's Mill this year. Keri

is valedictorian by about 1/10th of a grade point over her sister, with

both girls scoring over 99 out of a possible 100 for all of their subjects

since ninth grade.

Over that four-year

span, Kelsi was first in the class for three semesters and Keri held the

lead the rest of the time. The pair has set a remarkable standard for

Starr's Mill, as their class is only the second to graduate from the school

and the first to attend four full years.

The Matwicks

have spent most of their school years in Fayette County, starting with

the second grade at Braelinn Elementary (that school's first year of operation)

and going on to Whitewater Middle. Their senior year, however, has been

unique.

They were part

of a group of 68 students from across the state enrolled in the Advanced

Academy at the State University of West Georgia. In this special program,

students retain enrollment in their regular high schools as well, but

they live on the university's Carrollton campus and attend college-level

classes taught by professors in core subjects as well as advanced electives.

Two of the Matwicks' classes this year were college sophomore-level English

literature and junior-level Spanish.

This came on

the heels of their participation in the Governors' Honors Program, a six-week

event conducted each summer at Valdosta State University, giving exceptional

students an opportunity to experience new opportunities in a college setting.

Despite being

away from their own high school most of the year, the girls have no regrets

about their choice. They have gotten the most out of their high school

experience, they said, having participated in a number of extracurricular

activities their first three years, and both felt the move was a good

one.

Their interests

outside the classroom have stretched to athletics and music. Both competed

in cross-country and tennis at Starr's Mill. Keri also plays the violin

and Kelsi the piano, and the two often perform together.

They have excelled

in most of their school pursuits as a team, demonstrating a unique bond

often seen in identical twins, and they plan to take the next step together

to the University of Notre Dame, where both are attending on Air Force

ROTC scholarships. A four-year Air Force commitment will follow, at which

time they expect to go their separate ways.

Their military

influence has been a lifelong one. The girls' father was an officer in

the Air Force, and their older brother, a Sandy Creek alumnus, is graduating

this month from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs third in his

class. "We finished 1-2-3 this year," laughed Ann Matwick, the

proud mom.

Reflecting

on her daughters' outstanding high school career, Ann gave a great deal

of credit to the top-notch instruction they received. "There are

a lot of great teachers at Starr's Mill," she said.

"They

[Keri and Kelsi] really worked hard together to finish ahead of the other

kids," she continued. "There was never much competition between

them."

She also credited

the girls' endurance, comparing their four-year effort to a marathon.

"I saw some stress," she said. "But they handled it well."

After Friday's

graduation ceremonies both girls prepared their remarks weeks ago, a practice

their mother said was typical of them Keri and Kelsi will rest for a little

while before taking off for Paris in July. There, they will spend six

weeks studying French and art in a program offered through West Georgia.

The professors in this program are all from the state of Georgia, but

they will be living in a dorm with students from dozens of other countries.

Having lived

overseas during their father's Air Force career and traveled extensively

since, both have expressed a keen interest in languages, which they expect

to utilize throughout their careers.

While answering

questions about themselves promptly and confidently, they made it difficult

for this reporter to track exactly what Keri said and what Kelsi said.

But both have laid the groundwork to earn distinction in whatever field

each of these remarkable young ladies chooses to pursue.