Seeing Triple
By: Shelby Purdy and Naissa Lopez
It’s not every day that you run into a set of triplets, let alone attend the same university as all of them. The Thomas Triplets; Audrey, Jim and Greta, have called Texas A&M University—Kingsville home since the fall of 2013, and despite their time spent together throughout their collegiate lives, they’ve found that they have been able to find their own individualities while pursuing their higher education.
For the 21-year-old McAllen natives, A&M-Kingsville was always a top choice.
“My brother wanted to study agriculture, and for me it was always accounting,” said Greta, an accounting major and youngest of the bunch. “I wanted to go to school in Monterrey and my parents asked me if I wanted to take the opportunity to come to school with my brother. I thought about it and realized it was a better opportunity for me to come to school in Kingsville.”
George, who is an agriculture senior, was recently able to spend some time in New Mexico for a meeting with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“It was a great experience,” he said. “Last summer I did an internship with AgriLife research in Corpus, in their entomology (study of insects) department. It gave me the opportunity to go to New Mexico because of my internship research. I learned a lot.”
The oldest of the three, Audrey, is a marketing major who has her sights set on one day running her own business.
“I want to be my own boss eventually. I’m interested in all aspects of marketing; social media, promotions, stuff like that.”
George, who is graduating in May, hopes to continue his education and eventually receive a master’s degree.
“I definitely want to continue my education here,” he said. “As of now, I don’t really have a ‘dream job’ because I don’t want to set limits for myself. I do know that I want to work with fruits and vegetables. Anything in production.”
Greta, who is currently interning with the Kingsville Independent School District, has her sights set on the numerical side of a business.
“I’d love to become a Certified Public Accountant,” she said. “I want to do something that I like, and I love numbers, so anything in that field will make me very happy.”
Even though they don’t get to see their parents as often now that they are in college, family is still their top priority.
“I think our parents appreciate that we are all in one place, so it’s much easier for them to come here rather than hopping from city to city to see their kids,” said Greta.
“I think it’s definitely a relief for them,” added George. “It gives them a sense of security to know that all of us are here looking out for each other.”
Despite their similarities, the Thomas triplets have carved their own paths while in college.
“It’s normal for us to be here together,” said George. “When you’re born with two other siblings, it’s all you know.”
Audrey shares the same sentiment about their differences.
“Back home we shared the same circle of friends,” she added. “Now, we’ve branched out a lot more. College has been amazing in that sense. We’ve had a chance to be our own individuals.”
Fast Facts the Thomas Twins Want You to Know:
They cannot read each other’s minds.
“We’ve never had any of those twin telepathy things.”
Contrary to what others may assume, they’re actually very different.
“We’re different in so many aspects. We aren’t clones of each other.”
They’ve built an appreciation for country music.
“When we got to Kingsville we started listening to country music a lot more, especially Texas country! We learned to two-step.”
