LAPLACE — Fourteen-year-old twins Allison and Maggie Powell differ in personality, yet they show an identical dedication to striving for success and reaching their full potential through academics and extracurricular activities.

Eighth graders at St. Charles Catholic High School, both sisters are honor students on the principal’s list and members of Jr. Beta Club, Wetland Watchers and Stage Hands Theatre Group.

The twins participate in the New Orleans Academic Game League, volunteer at events with SCC and their church, Ascension of Our Lord in LaPlace, and attend classes together each day.

Their differences lie in their hobbies.

While Allison has a passion for dancing at Aimee’s Dance Academy, her home away from home, Maggie has cultivated a love for drum line over the past five years.

“Drum line is so much fun,” Maggie said. “You meet so many other people. Each year, we lose seniors and have new people join in, so you become friends with a lot of people in different grades.”

Though she’s focusing on academics this year, Maggie plans to join the Lady Comets basketball team and become more involved with sports.

Allison’s interest in sports lies primarily in dancing, which she does five nights a week, and she plans to join the Starsteppers dance team as a ninth grader.

Allison is also a member of Student Council and was recently elected eighth grade class president.

In her position, she’s prepared speeches, speaking to middle school students at Comets for a Day and encouraging them to make the decision to attend St. Charles Catholic.

Allison has been recognized for scoring a 30 on the reading portion of the ACT as a seventh grader, and she aims to achieve an equally impressive composite score during her high school career.

The girls said they get along well some days and get on each other’s nerves other days, as most sisters do.

Maggie said Allison is the more extroverted sister.

“She likes to talk,” Maggie said. “She’s very outgoing, and she always gets things done.”

Allison said Maggie likes talking too, at least when she’s around her peers.

“She’s very determined,” Allison said in regard to her sister. “In drum line, she practices every day. She genuinely cares about people. She can be aggravating, but she’s my aggravating person.”

Principal Andrew Cupit has taken notice of the girls’ efforts at the school though they have only been part of the SCC family for a matter of months.

“They’re the dynamic duo,” Cupit said. “We’re looking forward to their remaining 4 ½ years here. The sounds that come from them are wonderful: Maggie is part of drum line and Allie makes sounds with her speeches.”

Dr. Courtney Millet, director of admission, instruction and institutional advancement, said the girls are living embodiments of the school’s mission statement, always excelling in faith, schoolwork and extracurricular activities while providing leadership through service to others.

Allison and Maggie said they were pleasantly surprised to see how close the St. Charles Catholic family is, noting they’ve formed friendships with older students and have held friendly conversations with strangers in the halls.

“It was astounding to see how much people care for you,” Allison said. “Everyone wants you to do well.”

They’ve managed to keep success a priority even though the past several months have been challenging for them emotionally with their father in the hospital, facing serious health concerns.

Allison said their parents, Glennon and Connie Powell of LaPlace, are a big part of their inspiration to do well in school, and she and Maggie hope to make them proud.

The twins have a deep respect for their science and social studies teacher, Coach Jason Brown, who has been a positive role model and a confidant through the turmoil of the past several months.

He said the girls are similar in that they’re conscientious students and a joy to be around.

“They’re hard to separate because they’re both rock stars,” Brown said. “In class, we always say be everything that you can be, and they symbolize that every day. They both have a great love of life that you don’t really see from kids that age.”

On an individual level, he considers Maggie a free spirit and Allison an old soul.