Nikhil and Nithin Gopalakrishna explain the perks of having a twin, as well as the mix-ups and misunderstandings that ensue.
Story by: Holden Slattery
USC, especially in the Viterbi School of Engineering, already know identical twins Nikhil and Nithin Gopalakrishna. Other students only know one of them, and that can be the cause of great confusion. When they are walking through campus and an unfamiliar person greets them, they just smile and return the greeting. Then, they say, “You probably met my brother.”
Nikhil and Nithin are first-year graduate students from Mysore City in India, and they both study electrical engineering at the Viterbi School. Nikhil is studying computer networks, while Nithin is studying Very Large Scale Integration. They have studied at all of the same schools and taken all of the same classes ever since kindergarten. As undergraduates, they both studied electrical engineering at Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering and majored in electronics and communication. After graduating, they both found jobs in Bangalore and worked in nearby offices for three years. Then, they decided to pursue higher degrees in engineering and applied to USC. “We’ve been very lucky to get into the same universities,” Nikhil said.
While applying to USC, Nithin and Nikhil experienced the same type of mix-up that happens almost every time they do paperwork. After they were admitted, they were both given the same student ID number. Employees in the admissions department had thought they were one person and kept their application materials in the same folder, Nithin said. These situations occur more often in the U.S. than in India, Nithin explained, because offices in the U.S. organize paperwork by last name, and of course, their last names are the same.
Nikhil and Nithin are usually able to laugh about these mix-ups, and they agree that being a twin also offers many perks that make life easier.
“Since we studied together, there was always an advantage,” Nithin said. “We would always discuss topics which were taught in class and discuss problems and clear any doubts immediately. When we use to study from textbooks, if one of us had any doubt in any section, the other would resolve it instantly.”
While having a twin was helpful in India, both Nikhil and Nithin appreciate it more than ever as international students at USC. On campus, they get noticed often and become friends with students who take an interest in their story. At their apartment, they divide simple tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, to get things done faster. And loneliness and homesickness, which are natural for international students to experience, do not affect them in the same way.
“Here in US, we don’t really feel that we are living in strange place all alone,” Nithin said. “Having a twin here, we never feel that we are completely separated from family.”
Holden Slattery, Assistant Communications Editor, is pursuing a Master of Public Administration and is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.