Despite a high-risk pregnancy, Morgan Hicks, Sanai Hicks, and Tony Hicks Jr. are all grown up and have achieved impressive academic success, graduating with GPAs of 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9, respectively. They all received scholarships and were accepted into over 40 different colleges across the country.
However, the triplets, having a strong desire to stick together in the same city, decided that Morgan and Sanai would attend Spelman College, while Tony went across the street to Morehouse College.
Their mother, Sharnetta Hicks, shared their journey with CBS News Baltimore. According to her, despite facing high risks during her pregnancy, she successfully gave birth to the triplets. She recalled a doctor telling her that she should have passed away within 24 hours of giving birth to her three children. The triplets were so little that their father, Tony Hicks Sr.’s wedding band, could fit on their hands.
Some years down the line, and through all the challenges they encountered, the triplets have achieved this great feat. Sanai, one of the triplets, shared that she had two categories of dream schools in mind: predominantly white institutions (PWIs) and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). She revealed that Duke was her dream school in the PWI category, while Spelman was her dream school in the HBCU category.
During an interview with USA TODAY, Sanai stated, “My mom, when we were applying, she told us to apply to as many as we possibly could so that we could have options to choose from.”
Sharnetta and her husband guided their children, but they also wanted them to have the freedom to choose their path. Still, finances played a role in the decision-making process. Other schools were offering more financial assistance compared to Spelman and Morehouse.
To address the financial aspect, the family started a GoFundMe campaign. Meanwhile, the students themselves dedicated countless hours, working late into the night, to apply for scholarships and write admissions essays.
“They would end up doing four or five essays a day to catch up because they were just trying to live out their life and also have fun in school, do social activities, and do service hours,” said Sharnetta.
She expressed pride in their commitment and the effort they put into securing financial aid for their college education. Sanai and Morgan each received $18,000 from Spelman to help them get by over the next four years, while Tony Jr. earned $60,000 from Morehouse. Additionally, the kids received individual grants from other organizations.
Sanai wants to pursue a law degree while Morgan plans to study biochemistry. Tony Jr. would like to pay attention to applied physics and become an aerospace engineer.
