Twin power

PINE PLAINS — Last week’s issue of The Millerton News featured interviews with Webutuck’s 2008-09 valedictorian and salutatorian. This week we travel to Pine Plains, where twins received top honors at their graduation from Stissing Mountain High School in June. While Webutuck’s Camille Roccanova and Keeley McCaffrey often shared opposing views on their high school experiences, the Bisson brothers share a number of goals and reflections. Welcome to David and Jonathan’s world.

A family force

From early childhood, the idea of academic dedication was a priority in the household.

“I was just religious with [studying],� their mother, Lynda Wisdo, recalled. “Every morning we’d take out the flash cards... But after a while it got to the point where it was like ‘Hey, they get this.’�

Being twins, one motivated the other to strive for top grades throughout school.

“In junior high they got very competitive for a while,� she said. “I would check their homework every night, but then they got to a certain point where they had taken the reins and were running with it. They were rigorous about homework.�

But the rivalry subsided soon after it started, and for David and Jonathan, the achievement of both earning the top two spots in their graduating class is the real accomplishment, not who finished first.

“The greatest thing is that we were able to share that together,� said Jonathan, who with a 101 average missed David’s GPA by two-tenths of a point. “Besides, my average was over 100, there wasn’t much I could do.�

But don’t think the honor of the titles bestowed upon them was treated lightly.

“For me, it was a privilege,� explained David. “It was more of a unifying thing. A leader? Yeah, I guess, but the valedictorian is a reflection of the entire school and community. It’s about trying to apply that hard work and inspiration to everything, to every aspect of your life.�

“It’s nice to be recognized,� acknowledged Jonathan. “We’ve always been perfectionists when it comes to academics. If you’re going to do something, definitely give it your all.�

The little differences

It’s difficult to avoid lumping the Bisson brothers into one amalgamation of academic and extracurricular excellence; they share many of the same passions, especially for theater. Jonathan and David were both members of the Stissing Theatre Guild, and David said that his time spent on the stage at the high school will be his fondest high school memories, while Jonathan, who described himself as “a  theater hound,â€� said he was looking forward to continuing his work on stage at Dutchess County Community College, where he and his brother will both be heading at the end of the month. The two are currently both leaning towards professions in education, and the duo landed bussing jobs at Stissing House, making their lives that much more intertwined.

“There’s something about twins that’s very hard for someone who’s not a twin to understand,� Jonathan tried to explain. “Like, David has his own set of friends and I have mine. He has different interests. But where it comes in is constant companionship. We always have each other there, and that’s not going to go anywhere because I would be lost without him.�

And to be fair their paths do disconnect, even if they always stay within line of sight of each other. David is an academic man of history and English, and is also heavily influenced and impassioned by music. For his valedictorian speech, David rewarded his graduating class with a rendition of Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby’s “The End of the Innocence.� (Jonathan provided the saxophone solo.)

“What I wanted to try to convey was the one pure aspect of the untouched small town. [The song] represents that so perfectly, and it really has that innocence that was so fleeting at that moment in my life.� But the high school principal wasn’t so enamored with David’s choice at first, and it was a struggle to persuade the school to let him sing it. “Once I had it, I couldn’t settle for anything less.�

Jonathan, on the other hand, has strong interests in photography and creative writing. His mother ran the school’s literary magazine, Stissing Mountain Majestic Stories, and published several of Jonathan’s pieces there. And academically, his interests run the gamut from English to physics and chemistry.

“Besides being the artsy guy, I love being the mad scientist,� he said, explaining his love for the science fiction/fantasy genre.

Community college compadres

As the Bisson family gets ready to take the next step into college the future is, well, familiar. Choosing Dutchess County Community College, the brothers did catch some flack, as Jonathan mentioned, from those who wondered why the valedictorian and salutatorian would chose a public college when they could have been accepted to much more prestigious schools. It didn’t hurt that at graduation they were both presented with full ride scholarships to the school. But secondary education isn’t all about the cost of tuition for the Bissons.

“A lot of people have told me that [choosing a college] is about the gut feeling you get, and I got it there,� Jonathan recalled about visiting campus. “It just clicked.�

“I really like the idea of a community college,� David added. “We can explore a lot of different things without forking over $40,000 a year. And it provides a really close environment. I like that idea.�

David is thinking about dual certification in psychology and school education. His profession of choice?

“Right now I really want to be a guidance counsellor,� he said, quickly adding, “but that will probably change a thousand times.�

As for Jonathan, a teaching position is probably in his future. The creative writing will always be there, as will the photography, but being influenced by some of the teachers at Stissing Mountain has led him to appreciate most the teachers that make the extra effort.

“I’ll always remember the ones that made a difference,� he said. “There’s something special about reaching a kid, and that’s what inspired me.�

Heading to college will be something different for the Bisson household, but the brothers will still be living at home, and their mother couldn’t be happier.

“Besides academic achievements, they’re compassionate gentlemen,â€� she said. “I’ve  learned a lot from them.â€�