The Power of Two: Amber and Ashley Fisgaer to Cross Stage Together Among Top Graduates of the Holy Family University Class of 2024
If you were hoping to be able to distinguish identical twins Ashley and Amber Fisgaer by their distinctive tattoos, think again. The senior criminal justice majors who are graduating with identical 4.0 grade point averages (Ashley narrowly won the honor of class Salutatorian) both sport matching tattoos on their right wrists
The Fisgaer twins are so much alike that they have given up on having people differentiate them by name. Born on December 4, (Ashley arrived one minute earlier), it has been hard to separate them since, and they are perfectly content with that.
“People call us by the wrong names all the time,” Ashley said. “If someone can’t tell us apart, they’ll just go, ‘Hey twin.’ It’s funny.”
Coming up through grade school, the twins had all of the same classes and teachers and an admitted sense of security with a built-in best friend and advocate to navigate through school and life. They unexpected death of their mother, Carolyn, only 44 when she passed from cancer, brought the then-13-year-olds seventh-graders even closer, if that was possible.
“Losing our mom was definitely hard,” Amber said, “and some days, even now, are harder than others. It’s kind of hard knowing that our mom has now been gone nearly half of our lives, and that we will be graduating from college and moving on to a big part of our lives, and she is not going to be there, physically.”
Thankfully, the girls’ father, Alan, a disabled Philadelphia police officer and father to older sister, Jessica, is ‘super, super proud’ and always supportive. Because of their father, the girls have been interested in criminal justice since they were little, enrolled jointly at Holy Family to pursue the program and are both contemplating law school and careers in criminal law as potential career paths. They would love to attend the same law school and take that next journey, like all previous ones, together.
The two also have grown and bonded as cross country and track and field athletes at HFU, the thing that has brought them the most joy as distance runners.
“I loved every second of my track experience,” said Amber, who can edge out her twin in a foot race, much like Ashley edged her out in the classroom. “We were not star athletes when we came here, but head coach Dwight Brandon was willing to work with us and built our confidence. Track taught me to set goals for myself and to not give up on myself. Our teammates are the most wonderful people that I have ever met. I have made wonderful friendships that I am going to cherish for the rest of my life.”
“Our track coaches are the most loving and accepting people on this campus, in my opinion,” Ashley said. “Coach Brandon is dedicated to his job and his athletes. Ever since we started training with him, we have gotten so much better. I am very appreciative of that. Our teammates are more than teammates, they are family. At Bensalem High School, Amber and I didn’t have a lot of friends. We were very shy and kept to ourselves, because we lacked confidence. But once we started interacting with the team, and we started meeting everyone, they helped us become the people we are today. They were so patient and let is slowly come out of our shells. I love them so much.”
From shy and introverted, the Fisgaer twins blossomed into competitors and leaders, serving as captains for both cross country and track and field.
“Amber and Ashley have led the way academically for our program and have been a great help to me and the team,” Brandon said of Amber who was a part of conference championships in all three sports and of Ashley who joined her sister on the championship indoor track team. “I am very proud of them, and I will miss them both tremendously.”
Though they shared most of the same of college classes and even interned last summer together at a civil law firm in Feasterville, the two single out two separate professors who were particularly influential during their time at Holy Family.
“You could tell from day one how Dr. Spencer Hochstetler wanted his students to succeed,” said Ashley, who enrolled in several of his criminal justice classes. “If you ae struggling, even it if was with classwork from another course or something personal, he was always there and willing to help. I really admire that about him.”
For Amber, the one professor who really stuck out was Raena Shirali.
“I had her for Writing1 when I was freshman,” she said. “It was my first college writing class, and in high school I wasn’t the strongest writer. She was very helpful and took so much time with me. I attribute a lot of my success in the classroom to her. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the success that I have had if not for her.”
The twins also are extremely thankful for each other. Yes, they often know what the other is thinking, and they have been known to finish it each other’s sentences, but, more importantly, they are each other’s biggest supporters and loudest cheerleaders.
“It helped having Amber in my classes,” Ashley said. “Sometimes if I didn’t understand the material, she would be able to help me get through it. I would go to her first before having to go to my professor.”
“I don’t think we could have done it without each other,” Amber said. “I feel like a lot of my success is because I have had Ashley by my side. I might have given up if it wasn’t for her. I was very excited for her and very proud when she was named Salutatorian. She deserves it.”
And the one other person they couldn’t have done it without is their mother. That tattoo on their right wrists? It reads “Love, Mom” in their mother’s handwriting.
“We both wanted this tattoo as a constant reminder that our mom is always with us,” said Ashley. “I think she is just thrilled and very proud of how far we have come.”