Twice as Nice

Twins to graduate with ECU engineering degrees

It’s not that twins Sydney and Charlie Bosworth do everything together — well, except for attending the same university, deciding on the same major and graduating on the same day.

Friday’s commencement at East Carolina University will be doubly special for the Holly Springs duo as they will receive their degrees in engineering.

“I’m going to miss the atmosphere here,” Charlie Bosworth said. “It’s my last day of school, probably, or at least for the foreseeable future, but I’m going on to new horizons, full independency, full adulthood and making money. You know, that’s always a plus.”

Though Sydney and Charlie Bosworth shared their educational journeys, their careers won’t be the same as they have accepted jobs in different companies in Raleigh.

He’s going to work at Hoffman and Hoffman, a commercial HVAC equipment company in Raleigh. Sydney Bosworth won’t be that far away at Barton Associates, a Raleigh engineering firm specializing in mechanical, electrical and plumbing solutions.

“I’m going to miss being here, but I’m excited for a new beginning,” Sydney Bosworth said. “I’ve been in school for forever, like 20 years, so I’m pretty ready to go.”

Sydney said she gravitated toward STEM subjects in high school.

“I just really loved science and math growing up in high school, and I just love learning calculus and chemistry and those kinds of things,” she said. “My parents were like, ‘Engineering would be a great fit for you,’ and so that’s just what I ended up doing, and I’ve loved it ever since. I got into the meat of the classes and material, and I’ve grown to love engineering even more.”

Charlie admits that English was his favorite subject, but he felt ready to tackle something new.

“I wanted to do something really challenging,” he said. “I pride myself on learning really hard things. So even though I wasn’t really excited about math, I loved learning the hard things. I think that kind of spurred my inspiration to look at engineering. I thought that engineering was going to be really hard, a challenge, and I didn’t want to feel like I was getting a degree for nothing. I wanted to work for it, and engineering would make me work.”

He also realized engineering — specifically a mechanical engineering concentration — would open doors to a variety of career options.

“It’s a substantial degree,” he said. “Engineers are paid very handsomely right out of the gate of college, especially mechanical engineering. It’s a broad degree. It covers a lot of different spectrums, very flexible, so you can go anywhere with that degree.”

Though both went to the same high school and attended Wake Technical Community College together, their educational journeys appeared set to separate. Sydney had planned to attend UNC Charlotte when Charlie decided to tour ECU, bringing his sister along.

“I immediately fell in love with ECU,” he said. “I just really love the old-fashion buildings and the massive lawn in the middle. I can walk from one side of campus to the other in 15 minutes. It was just that old-time feel with everything and how nice and genuine people were, and it just really sealed it for me.”

That night, he talked to Sydney about his decision to attend ECU.

“I think just the thought of being away from my twin, I just didn’t think I could do it,” she said. “We grew up together and went to the same high school, so I ended up following Charlie to ECU.”

Since they shared the same major and mechanical engineering concentration, they shared many classes. When professors called their names back-to-back during attendance on the first day of class, raised eyebrows, questions and conversations often followed.

“It’s funny because every single time we knew it was going to happen. Everybody’s head picked up and looked around,” Charlie said. “One professor thought we were married.”

Shared classes provided shared benefits, though.

“If I understood something in class and Charlie didn’t or vice versa, we would be able to help each other out, explaining how to do problems or just explaining the material in general,” Sydney said. “… We know each other and know where we operate best.”

That proved beneficial as both worked with Abby Miller and Yordana Schwarzbauer on the same senior capstone team. The group worked on a project with a micrograin farmer to develop a more efficient planting tray cleaning system.

“I have never worked with anybody as flawlessly in my life,” Charlie said of his sister. “It’s kind of crazy. It’s almost like a superpower. I think we’re probably the most efficient pair of people on earth, at least that’s how it feels. Sometimes we just exchange a glance, and we know what each other is saying and hop to it. It gets where we never miss a beat because we were raised the same way. We’re both very, very similar. We were both raised to work hard. We have the same work ethic. We both want to work hard and deliver something that’s good, professional and well done.”

On the evening of their capstone project presentation, Sydney was recognized as one of three engineering outstanding seniors for the fall 2024 graduating class, receiving a medal she’ll wear during Friday’s commencement.

Both said they relished their ECU experiences, from the friends they’ve met and the relationships with professors they’ve made to the hard work they put in to obtain their degrees.

“It’s such an awesome school,” Sydney said.

ECU’s university commencement ceremony will be 10 a.m. on Friday in Minges Coliseum. The College of Engineering and Technology graduate recognition ceremony will be 1 p.m. on Friday in Minges Coliseum. For those unable to attend in person, the college ceremony will be livestreamed.