MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Students at St. Anthony High School on the south side of Milwaukee will soon celebrate their graduation.
At the top of the class, twin brothers Joseph and Joshua Garcia.
“I do feel proud. My parents have told me, ‘We're proud of you.’ And they can't wait for graduation,” said salutatorian Joshua.
Joshua and Joseph are incredibly close and always at each other’s side.
The Garcia brothers say they spent their childhood constantly pushing each other to succeed.
“When we were growing up, our parents were always like, ‘Always do good in school.’ So, we were always competing against each other to see who could do their homework the fastest and correctly,” said Joshua.
This year, they both submitted dozens of applications to colleges across the country.
Together, they got accepted to more than 30 schools and have received more than $5 million in scholarships.
“Most of our parents didn't have the opportunity to go to college. So it was very important, especially for our family, to be the first ones to go to the throughout that process,” said valedictorian Joseph.
Joshua and Joseph say the support they received from teachers at St. Anthony was key to achieving their goals.
The school serves more than 1,500 students on the city’s south side, most of whom come from low-income, predominately Latino households.
On top of their success, the twins have new titles: valedictorian and salutatorian of their class.
“For people around the school, your teachers, the counselors, and everyone, to acknowledge that effort that you have done throughout these years, it's very special,” said Joseph.
This fall, the boys will head to Lawrence University in Appleton.
Joseph plans to major in music theory and composition, while Joshua plans to major in computer science and criminal justice.
“I felt like some sense of, like at home, probably because of the community,” said Joshua.
As they head into this next chapter, they say they always plan to stick together.
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