Double trouble at GSP

By Rachel Burba
Louisville Butler Traditional

Justin and Cody Epperson are not only brothers, but also best friends. In their home town of Somerset, Justin and Cody are always together. Theirs is a very special relationship, a closeness that few in the world may ever experience.
Justin and Cody Epperson are twins.
“We do everything together. We play football and basketball together and hang out with the same group of friends,” Cody said.
As special as that kind of closeness can be, it can also create special problems in a community like the Governor’s Scholars Program, which brings together top students from across Kentucky to give them each a unique learning experience away from home and family. Scholars live on a college campus for five weeks and participate in classes that provide both academic and personal growth.
Justin and Cody, upcoming seniors at Southwestern High School in the Pulaski County system, were both accepted into the Governor’s Scholars Program this year, a great accomplishment for such a competitive program. GSP officials immediately went into action to help the Epperson family make the most of the experience for both twins.
They notified the family to give them the choice of moving one student to Bellarmine University in Louisville and the other to one of the GSP’s sister campuses at Centre College or Murray State. Or they could send both students to any one of the campuses.
When twins decide to be on the same campus, GSP officials take care to assign them to different dorm halls and place them in different classes.
“The goal is for everyone to have an individual experience,” explained GSP Executive Director Aris Cedeño. He recalled the surprise on the face of a mother who had brought just one set of everything – from munchies to toiletries -- expecting that her children would naturally be placed in the same room. Cedeño said each twin should have a unique experience at GSP, an experience away from the comforts of home and family.
Each year, the GSP selects about 1,100 scholars from across the state, including between four and nine sets of twins. This year, GSP has 11 sets. It’s rare, but sometimes only one of the twins makes it into GSP, in some cases because only one applies. Other times, only one twin makes the cut in the highly competitive selection process.
Justin and Cody chose to stay together and were placed on the Bellarmine University campus in Louisville, which has the most GSP twins this year, with 11 – three pairs and five individuals. Centre College has eight twins and Murray State has four.
Cody said his family chose to stay at one campus because “It was easier for the family with only one moving day and one family day.” Families and friends have one designated visiting day during the program.
Despite all the efforts by GSP officials to give the twins unique experiences, Justin and Cody just seemed to gravitate to each other whenever they had a chance. In their free time they worked out together and hung out with the same group of friends.
Just like they do at home.
“It has not hurt my experience at all,” Cody insisted. “I’d be doing the same thing whether he was here or not.”
Oh, well. It’s probably just a twin thing.