Identical twins Hannah and Nyssa Payne-Harker will have two reasons to celebrate when they graduate from the University of Otago today.
And they will be among more than 350 people who will graduate in person from the University of Otago with qualifications, mainly in science, at the Dunedin Town Hall at 4pm today, at the second of two graduation ceremonies.
After studying together at Otago University for the past three years, the twins will not only be graduating, but also celebrating their 21st birthdays.
They reached that latter milestone on Wednesday.
''It's really exciting.
''It's really nice to be able to do that together, and share that kind of celebration,'' Nyssa said.
And Hannah is also pleased to ''have family and friends around'' for a family social function tonight.
Hannah is graduating with a BSc in geography, with a minor in ecology.
And Nyssa is graduating with a BA, majoring in politics, having also taken a history and Maori studies minor.
Having both grown up in Dunedin, both also attending Otago Girls' High School, the twins also lived together throughout their first degree studies, initially in their family home and later in a flat.
Hannah said that living and studying with a twin had been ''positive, definitely''.`It's been really great to be studying at the same time, and to be living together because we've been able to support each other through our studies.
They had both ''gained a lot'' and had been ''able to motivate each other''.
''And there's huge advantages to be able to see things from a different perspective.''
And the toughest moment in their respective studies came when Hannah had to spend a week away on a geography field trip in Twizel, in 2013, in the second year of their studies.
Having always previously lived and studied together in their earlier lives, that longest time apart was ''definitely a challenge'', but they overcame it, Hannah said.
''We've been best friends right through high school and right through university,'' Nyssa said.
And bringing together their different perspectives, including their respective interests in science and the arts, had also been positive.
Their mother, Cee Payne, said she was ''just so proud of them'', as their ''very exciting'' shared graduation looms.
And, beyond today's graduation, the twins can expect to be seeing quite a bit more of each other in future, because they are both still flatting together and both are now enrolled in Otago master of planning studies.
''Our friendship is definitely what inspires us to take that extra step forward, knowing you've got that support there,'' Nyssa said.
