Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 9, 1995                   TAG: 9505090076
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: RADFORD                                  LENGTH: Medium

TWINS HAD RU SEEING DOUBLE|

But 22-year-old twins Michele Leigh Nelson and Sherri Leigh Nelson, who were among the more than 1,200 university graduates Saturday, have their differences, too.

Michele, who graduated with a double major in math and statistics, is the more outgoing. Sherri, with a double major in English and political science, is more quiet. "We complement one another," Sherri said.

They found themselves competing for the university's Dean Scholar awards when both were nominated. Michele won.

"Sherri was as happy as if she had won it herself," said their mother. They are the daughters of Barry and Nita Nelson of Appalachia in Wise County.

"In a way, we're used to it, since, when we were in high school, we had to deal with one or the other winning different awards," said Sherri.

They lived together at Radford, and Michele would help Sherri with math while Sherri proofread Michele's papers. Teachers would sometimes mistake them for each other. "As long as it's not a classroom situation, we'll usually go along with it so that they aren't necessarily embarrassed," Michele said.

Students would get them confused, too. One student tried to pay Sherri for tutoring work Michele had done.

Michele is headed for graduate school at Virginia Tech, with a full scholarship, for a master's degree in statistics. Sherri plans to attend graduate school at Radford, get a doctorate and eventually teach English.

Though they have many of the same friends, they have never competed for the same boyfriend. "I guess we aren't attracted to the same kinds of guys," Sherri said.