Identical twin sisters Eleanor and Oprah Nkera, who graduated at the top of their class at Medford High School, hope to inspire others as they head to Harvard University this fall.
Eleanor, the school’s salutatorian, boasts a GPA of 4.45. Just ahead of her is sister Oprah, the valedictorian, with a GPA of 4.46.
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“It was kind of a surprise. We’ve always worked hard throughout our academic careers, but becoming valedictorian and salutatorian wasn’t something we expected,” Oprah said.
Both sisters are active in their school community, playing on the Medford High School tennis team and participating in the garden club. They also take nearly every AP class together. At Harvard, they plan to venture out and take different classes for the first time.
Eleanor will major in bioengineering, while Oprah plans to major in neuroscience.
The twins, also the youngest of five siblings, have lived in Medford their entire lives. Their parents immigrated from the Republic of the Congo before they were born. Eleanor is named after her godmother, while Oprah was named after Oprah Winfrey.
Oprah explained that English as a second language was hard to grasp at first, but it did not hold them back.
“When my parents immigrated to the United States, learning English was challenging for them, so my mom used to watch Oprah to learn the language,” Oprah explained.
She admitted that having such a famous namesake wasn’t always easy. “I think my name is really powerful. When I was younger, I didn’t really like it, but I’ve definitely grown into it,” she said.
“You can do anything you put your mind to,” Eleanor said. “You just have to work really hard for it.”
