By Gabi Sturgeon, staff writer.

Coming on to a college campus can be nerve-wracking. Not knowing anyone, being by yourself, and starting a new life all on your own. These siblings decided to skip the stress and to enjoy the college experience together at Franklin Pierce. From living together to playing a sport together, these siblings are making the best out of their college experience with each other. 

Juniors Ciersten and Corinne Palumbo have been playing soccer together their whole lives. “It would feel weird without her next to me on the field,” Ciersten stated. “She drives me to be a better player and we have competitions on who can score more goals in practice!”

Many would think it might be difficult to play a sport with your sibling, but the Palumbo sisters see it as a blessing. “It's the duo that has the most chemistry on the field. Playing a sport with Ciersten gives me the extra fuel to fight, work hard, and achieve what's needed to be done in practice,” said Corinne.  

Playing soccer together is just one part of the twins’ experience here on the Franklin Pierce campus. “It’s the best friend everyone needs or always wanted,” Corinne said. “We like to joke around with people and switch up our names, so people forget who’s who.” 

With the blessings come some challenges. Corinne spoke about how sometimes the two of them don’t end up on the same team in practice for scrimmaging, so they do not get the opportunity to work together. Instead, they sometimes end up working against each other. “We compete together and work together, and if we’re in different teams, it’s a war. It can get ugly, but overall we like to work together.” 

“We decided to come here and play together like we have been our whole life,” Ciersten concluded. 

Much like the Palumbo twins, Eli and Ian Battipaglia also decided to join each other on a college campus.

“We are so used to living in the same house, and transitioning to a new school was a lot easier, because I already had someone I could always hang out with,” said Eli.

“One thing I like about having a sibling on campus is just having another teammate just to remind me of stuff,” Ian said. “I’ve played baseball with Eli my whole life.”

Both sophomores play baseball together at Franklin Pierce now, continuing a life-long journey of pushing each other towards success on the field. “I love seeing him play good and I’m always hoping he does play well,” Eli stated. 

Along with the Battipaglia and Palumbo siblings, Hannah and Connor Everidge continue a family tradition of learning on the Rindge campus. Hannah is a senior on the women’s basketball team, and was followed to college by her younger brother, who is in his sophomore year as a member of the men’s track & field team. To top it all off, they are children of a pair of Franklin Pierce alums.

“My parents are FPU alumni, so my siblings and I grew up going to sporting events in Rindge,” said Hannah. “When I entered the recruiting process, I fell in love with the people and the atmosphere. When my brother came for a visit a couple years later, he too felt the great atmosphere of the community. I’ll never forget being in the library when he called me saying he was committing to FPU.”

“I absolutely love having my brother on campus,” she continued. “We get lunch together on campus a few times a week and just catch up on the week. I think us being in college together has made us closer than ever.”

Having a sibling on campus has been a great experience according to these siblings. Having a friendly competition, as well as an extra friend, gives these siblings the best college experience they could have asked for.