Los Angeles, CA — It’s been an exciting time for Sebastian and Sinclair Ridley-Thomas.
The sons of County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and his wife, Avis, the twin boys recently threw their caps in the air and joined 500 African American males in graduation ceremonies at the historic Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Both twins, who will celebrate their 22nd birthday on Aug. 12, revealed that their experience at the renowned university was unparalleled. “It was very positive,” said Sebastian, who graduated with a degree in Sociology and served as senior class president. “I played on the Morehouse Maroon Tigers football team for one year. I worked in the Martin Luther King, Jr. International chapel where I coordinated community service activities and programs. I also covered football as a sportswriter.”
“Academic achievement at Morehouse is held in the highest regard,” adds Sinclair, who received his degree in business administration and added that the college stressed community service. “I worked with an afterschool program and ran the Learning Program for the Fulton County juvenile court.” Sinclair said he was also a running back for the Maroon Tigers for four years and a member of the All Conference Academic Team.
Between academics, volunteering, internships and other activities, the twins said that they were exposed to a myriad experiences. “The hardest thing was striking a balance between athletics and academics and finding time to excel in both,” said Sinclair, who was a member of the Golden Key Honor Society.
“Morehouse was an affirming place like no other,” said Sebastian. “Being a part of the tradition and legacy of Morehouse was inspiring and powerful.”
One of the highlights for the twins was participating in a cultural exchange program in Beijing, China, a city that boasts 15 million people. “We studied Mandarin Chinese in the morning and then embarked on site visits of the city in the afternoon,” said Sebastian. “We visited Tianamen Square, where there was the massive student demonstration several years ago and we climbed the Great Wall.”
“We spent half a day climbing the Wall,” said Sinclair, who added that the Great Wall is the largest manmade structure in the world and the only one visible from space. “It was quite chilly up there. We had to wear extra layers of clothing to make sure we didn’t expose ourselves to the elements.”
Both young men said that during their stay at Morehouse, they were in constant contact with their parents who dispensed sage advice about how to succeed in college. “Dad said, ‘What you invest your time in, you will get the greatest yield from,” said Sebastian.
“My father advised us that life is long and whatever momentary success you have can easily be followed by extreme failure. He said to always keep things in perspective.”
“Our mom Avis said live by the platinum rule,” said Sinclair, who added that his parents will celebrate 30 years of marriage on August 30. “She said, ‘Treat people the way they want to be treated, not the way you want to be treated.”
