NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A New Orleans family is celebrating two times the success after a set of twins earned scholarships totaling the sum of $5 million.
Frederick A. Douglass High School seniors, Kayla and Kyla Frey, have been recognized for their success by being selected first and third in their class. The sisters credit their strong work ethic, confidence in each other and family support, for their thriving success.
The two were enrolled in high school through the pandemic and Hurricane Ida but neither disaster was enough to interrupt their goals. While the two share the same looks, they differ in their paths to success.
Kayla Frey exceeded in her studies while managing her participation in numerous extracurricular activities and student organizations like softball, the award-winning Aspen Challenge Team, the National Honor Society, School Newspaper, Bard Ambassador Program, Bard Student Leadership Council, Total Black Out Organization, the statistician for the football team, the African American Studies Club, as well as community service initiatives such as Operation Hope 4 NOLA.
Her list of awards is also extensive including Athlete of the Year in the 11th grade, and recently a Gates Scholarship Recipient.
Her sister Kyla Frey stayed active as a member of the AP Pathways program in 10th grade, a Peer Tutor for Bard, the National Honor Society. She landed as a semi-finalist for the Gates Scholarship.
Kyla shares a love of painting, making bracelets, and watching sports which drives her ambition to become an NFL athletic trainer.
Both their mother and father, Leslie and Derreck Frey, expressed their pride in their daughter’s achievements as Leslie stated they made sure to provide the needed resources for their success, especially emotional support.
Leslie emphasized the utilization of resources provided by the school and to not let their surroundings limit their potential.
“We’re always trying to inspire somebody else and let them know they can do it too,” said Kayla and Kyla.
The sisters will be attending their top-choice schools Yale and Notre Dame in the Fall where Kayla with pursue a degree in sociology with a concentration on social inequality, and Kyla a degree in Kinesiology.
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