After that, the 22-year-old science graduands will follow different paths into the world for the next chapter in their lives.
Catrin said their graduations would be a meaningful moment to share.
‘‘It’s pretty cool.
‘‘Not many people can say that they got to graduate alongside their sibling.
‘‘It’s also been like 15 years since we’ve worn the same outfit.’’
‘‘So we weren’t able to see each other graduate, which was pretty sad.
‘‘Going through NCEA level 2 and 3 was super difficult during Covid, so it was disappointing that we couldn’t celebrate our achievements together.’’
Catrin will graduate with a bachelor of science (first class honours) in microbiology, and Alex will graduate with a bachelor of arts and science in zoology and indigenous development at the Dunedin Town Hall today.
Their choice of study is no surprise — their dad studied zoology and marine sciences at Otago in the 1980s and their mum is a molecular biologist.
While many siblings were quite competitive, Catrin said the fact they were in ‘‘pretty distinct’’ areas of study and had very different hobbies, meant they lived harmoniously.
‘‘Mum and Dad won’t tell us who’s older though.
‘‘Maybe if we knew, we’d be more competitive,’’ Alex said.
‘‘The only things Catrin and I would compete over as kids was who was taller and who had bigger muscles.’’
Despite not flatting together during their studies, the duo said they were very close — so close they always lived within a 20-minute walk of each other.
Now they were going their separate ways and were already living in different cities, it did not feel weird to be uncoupled, Catrin said.
Their parents have been preparing them for the breaking of their bond since they were in primary school.
‘‘Through primary, intermediate and the beginning of high school, we were always in separate classes — our parents requested this.
‘‘I don’t have any memories of us fighting in kindergarten or anything.
‘‘We almost always were in different friend groups and sports teams at school, although we went to the same university residential hall.’’
They did not consult each other beforehand, Catrin said.
‘‘Maybe we would have picked differently.’’
Alex is now in Auckland, working as a geo-environmental technician at Geotechnics Ltd and Catrin has been in Wellington, working at the Ministry for Primary Industries (New Zealand Food Safety) and is about to start working in a scientist role at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research’s RNA technology development platform.
‘‘This is the first time we’ve lived in separate cities,’’ Catrin said.
‘‘Although we’re twins, we’re quite independent, but we always keep in contact and we’ll always support each other.’’
