Senior Tha Chin Sung has been dependent of her older sister, senior Elizabeth Sung, from waking her up in the morning, to providing transportation. With their high school days coming to an end, Tha Chin will have to adjust to her sister’s absence.

These two sisters have been together in school for the past four years and have succeeded together by making it into the top 20. Soon, they’ll take their separate paths towards their future.

“She’s like my best friend,” Tha Chin said. “We’ve never been separated since birth so, of course I’m going to miss her.”

With different majors in mind, Tha Chin will continue her education at IUPUI and Elizabeth will be attending International Business College, which is a two year program. Tha Chin insisted that she goes where her sister goes, but Elizabeth has a bigger future for her sister in mind and wants to see her succeed even more. In order to achieve that goal of hers, Tha Chin would have to go to a four year program.

“I want the both of us to be together too,” Elizabeth said, “but, we have to think about our future now.”

Tha Chin and Elizabeth arrived in the U.S. in 2013, with only two months before summer break. This resulted in the older of the two, Elizabeth, repeating freshmen year the following school year. According to her, this was always her dream: to be in the same grade as her sister.

According to the two siblings, there are no negative sides to being in the same grade. They get to study together and help each other out.

This year, the two sisters managed to get into the top 20 without knowing the existence of the school’s ranking system in the first place.

For the sisters, the announcement of their ranking really confirmed their placement. They both knew they made it into the top 20 from Skyward, but they they didn’t believe it. According to them, they felt very blessed and still can’t believe it’s true.

“This was never one of my goals,” Tha Chin said. “My agenda was to just maintain my grades and pass the classes but god has blessed me more than I’ve asked.”

Elizabeth feels proud that not just one but both of them made it. She feels honored and happy to represent and be the first to achieve this accomplishment for her church and her village.

Both the sisters believe that it wasn’t all because of their doing. It was because of their parents, teachers and friends who supported them and gave them advice.

Tha Chin wants people to believe in themselves and not give up easily just because their grades may be disappointment during the earlier stages of high school. Tha Chin reassures that falling asleep during study time is okay because humans are not machines. She encourages the underclassmen to take weighted classes and focus on studying, but to not spend 100 percent of their time on just school work.

“Do what you need first, then do what you want,” Tha Chin said.