Sitting beside her identical twin sister, Ava Plummer said it’s a unique experience being twins.
“Not many people experience that, having a best friend built in,” she said.
For her part, Mya Plummer said, “Being a twin, I think twin telepathy is real.” She said while they were eating at their school’s prom, it turned out they were thinking the same thing, that “it felt like a middle school dance!”
On the day the two members of the class of 2026 at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland, were interviewed about their experiences at the school, their upcoming graduation and their dreams for the future, by happenstance it turned out they were wearing identical Good Counsel sweatshirts, which they joked was another example of twin telepathy.
The 18-year-old twins are the daughters of Lisa and Troy Plummer, and they have an older sister, Ileana, who graduated from Our Lady of Good Counsel in 2021. The twins graduated from Mary of Nazareth School in Darnestown, and their family attends the neighboring Our Lady of the Visitation Church.
In addition to attending the same Catholic elementary school, high school and parish, the twins have an experience in common that has helped shape their choice of college majors and future careers.
They have worked as waitresses and volunteers at the Brooke Grove Retirement Village in Sandy Spring, Maryland.
“There’s so much to gain from them, and how they see the world,” said Ava Plummer. She said talking with the senior residents helped inspire her to major in physical therapy when she attends Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, this fall.
Reflecting on what she has learned working and volunteering at that retirement community, Mya Plummer said, “Human interaction is so important… People forget the elderly exist. In the best retirement homes, people are still lonely.” She added that “people being seen, heard and cared for can change someone’s life.”
Mya Plummer plans to study nursing at The College of New Jersey and become a travel nurse or a nurse anesthetist. She looks forward to having direct contact with the people she will care for as a nurse. “People deserve to be seen as more than (just) a patient, but as a person… When you’re trying to get better, you want someone to believe in you,” she said.
Her religion classes at Our Lady of Good Counsel, along with chances to help lead retreats and to serve as a Eucharistic minister at school Masses have deepened her faith in Jesus as her Savior, and helped her find her purpose in life, Ava Plummer said.
“The one thing in my life I hope is that when people see me, they see Christ in me,” she said.
Ava Plummer said it has been a special experience for her to give the Eucharist to her teachers and fellow students at Mass. “It’s so significant. You’re giving someone the body of Christ,” she said.
Mya Plummer said a class she took there on prayer meditation has helped her see how powerful prayer is. Her experiences at the school have taught her that faith “is always an ongoing journey. It’s a walk, not a run,” she said.
As an XBSS (Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools) Scholar at Good Counsel, Mya Plummer has worked with other students in helping to organize and serve at school Masses and other religious activities, and she has also participated in fun activities there, including Flapjack Fridays, where students make and serve pancakes to their peers.
The twins are top students in their graduating class, and both are members of the National Honor Society, the National Art Honor Society and the Chemistry Club there. Ava Plummer played field hockey there for three seasons, and said her teammates have become some of her closest friends.
Both praised the Good Counsel community. Ava Plummer said that in recent weeks, she’s been thinking about “the people I’ve met here, and the impact they’ve made on my heart.”
That point was echoed by her sister, who said, “The friendships I made here, I’m going to have for the rest of my life. I’ll always come back here. It’s just so special here.”
When the twin sisters were asked how they will adjust going to different colleges and being apart for the first time, Mya Plummer said, “We’ll be okay. We’re independent. It’ll be different not seeing each other every day.”
Ava Plummer noted, “I feel at this point in time, we do need time apart.” But she held up her wrist and added that she’ll be able to keep in touch with her twin sister with her Apple Watch.
Her sister Mya emphasized that, “I am excited for what’s to come next.”
