“Literally one day before the ROTC scholarship deadline to select a school, Robert asked me if I wanted to go to ’Cuse together,” says Michael Thomas. “It was an easy yes.” Originally, the twins planned to enlist immediately after high school but decided to pursue an ROTC scholarship instead. The scholarship was only awarded to 4,000 students nationally, and both the Thomas twins succeeded in earning it. They are now juniors at Syracuse University and while they are considering graduate degrees, they want to serve in the Army first.

“We have both always wanted to serve,” says Michael. “That has been our goal. To not only achieve it, but to achieve it together at a prestigious college like Syracuse is something really special.”

Read the full story about Robert and Michael Thomas here.