About 3.2 percent of U.S. births result in twins. All kinds of factors have been said to affect twin birth rates, including genetics, age, height, weight, race, diet, previous pregnancies, fertility treatments, etc.
In honor of National Twin Day 2021, we reached out to several sets of University of Miami twins with at least sibling studying at the School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS). Not only did we find four such pairs, we found another four sets of twins pursuing the very same major at SONHS.
Here’s what some of these SONHS twins had to say.
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“Ibna is my inseparable best friend who I can always count on. I wouldn't trade her for the world!” —Feha Shahalam, BSHS ’24 |
CAPTION: From left, Feha and Ibna Shahalam, BSHS ’24
Feha and Ibna Shahalam, BSHS ’24
Major: Health Science, Pre-Pharmacy Track
Minors: Chemistry and Biology
What they said: “Ibna and I were born in Miami, but our parents are originally from Bangladesh. We are fraternal twins. Ibna is two minutes older and an inch taller than I am. She's also more extroverted. We decided to have the same major/minors since we share a passion for science and helping people. Consequently, having the same classes helps since we always have each other as a study buddy, which is pretty sweet. Us being twins was a shock to our parents since there are no other twins in our family.”
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“Being a twin is always a conversation starter; people are often intrigued by how it is to live with a twin.” —Alejandro Pardo, BSHS ’23
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CAPTION: From left, Gabriel and Alejandro Pardo, BSHS ’23
Gabriel and Alejandro Pardo, BSHS ’23
Major: Health Science, Premed Track
Minors: Chemistry, Biology, and Psychology
What they said: “Being from Miami, we have always heard how great UM is in terms of education, so we made it our goal to attend UM. We both pursued the same degree because we’re inspired by our father to be physicians. There are no other twins in our immediate family, but our great-great-great aunt on our father's side was also a twin. Many people joke about how twins can read each other's minds, but it’s more like how we know each other so well that we can guess what’s in each other’s minds. In our case, being a twin is automatically having a best friend and a legit day-one homie—someone I can always trust and confide in. Although we are fraternal, we look very much alike. To differentiate ourselves, we wear different colors, blue and green. However, some of our longtime friends can tell us apart just by our mannerisms.”
CAPTION: Mia and Sofia Briones, Class of 2024
Mia Briones, BSN ’24: “My sister, Sofia, and I are both born and raised in Miami. I am a nursing major with a minor in public health and my sister is a psychology major. Fun fact: We have always shared a room, and we co-parent a Maltese named Saskia.”
CAPTION: From left, Mila and Madison Nguyen
Madison Nguyen, BSPH ’25: “My twin, Mila, and I are from Dallas, Texas. I am majoring in public health at the School of Nursing and Health Studies, and Mila is a PR major in UM’s School of Communication.”
In addition, SONHS has two more sets of twins majoring in health science, including Jami and Morgan Lashinsky, of Rockland County, New York, as well as a health science/public health major whose twin studies exercise physiology at UM, and a student in the ABSN program with a twin at the Miller School of Medicine.
Wishing these twins and all others a Happy National Twin Day!
