SERVING DEKALB, FULTON, GWINNETT, HENRY AND ROCKDALE COUNTIES
VOLUME 19 NUMBER 4
WWW.OCGNEWS.COM
MAY 15, 2013
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Spelman’s Co-Valedictorians
Identical twins share spotlight
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By Mackenzie N. Morgan
dentical twins Kirstie and Kristie Bronner have always done everything together— double dated, studied abroad in Milan, Italy and lived together in college. On May 19, the 22-year-old music majors will make history as Spelman College’s first students to graduate as co-valedictorians. Both have 4.0 GPAs. “I’m very excited to share the title [valedictorian] with my sister. We’ve shared everything our whole lives. We studied this whole time together, so I think it’s only fair we share this title together,” said Kristie Bronner. Though they are Spelman College’s first students to earn the distinction of co-valedictorians, they are not new to the Spelman legacy. Kirstie and Kristie are third generation Spelmanites. Their mother, the Rev. Nina Cobb Bronner, graduated from Spelman in 1985 and their grandmother, Dorothy Gibson Cobb, graduated in 1956. They also have an aunt, Sheila Bronner, who was a member of the class of 1986. Their father, Bishop Dale C. Bronner, who heads The Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Austell, attended Atlanta’s Morehouse College, where he graduated with honors in religious studies in 1984. “We did our best to teach our children to do their best. We emphasized godly values in their life and having good character,” their dad, Bishop Dale C. Bronner, told On Common Ground News. “We encouraged their successes and taught them that failure only serves as a teacher.” Kirstie, who had four more credits than her sister, Kristie, said she and
L-R: Kirstie and Kristie Bronner.
Photo by Mackenzie N. Morgan/OCG News
Snapshot of Kirstie and Kristie Bronner Both are right-handed They like hot pink Their favorite foods: tacos and hot wings Their favorite music: Contemporary Christian Kirstie’s favorite vacation: Australia Favorite place to hang out: Movie theater Significant other: Air Force Pilot
her family anxiously anticipated the possibility of the school honoring double valedictorians. “We really didn’t think about it a lot. We felt like we were doing our best everyday with what we had,” said Kirstie, who is the oldest by one hour and 20 minutes.
Kristie’s favorite vacation: Mexico Favorite place to hang out: Arbor Place Mall Significant other: Emory Business graduate
Homeschooled since the fifth grade, Kirstie and Kristie completed their primary education via correspondence courses. During their high school years, they worked independently from 7 a.m. until 8 in the evening, eating lunch in their laps while watching their lessons via DVDs – stopping only to walk the dog.
“It was a lot of work and it definitely prepared us for college. We had to have good study habits or we wouldn’t have good grades. A 93 was a B. So we really had to go the extra mile for an A. We prayed hard and worked hard—same thing we did in college,” said Kristie. A Beka Academy, the program from which the twins received their high school diplomas, is an accredited homeschool program that offers a rigorous menu of advanced courses. Late assignments and lounging in pajamas comes with a hefty price tag of $50 per late assignment. “It takes a lot of self-discipline to watch DVDs of a classroom. If we had questions, we had to call the tutors at the school,” said Kirstie. “We really made the most out of it and used it to learn to go through everything with a fine tooth comb.” They carried that same discipline to college. Said Kristie: “Eventually, our friends learned don’t ask the twins to go out on school night.” Watching television was also reserved for the weekend. When the twins prepared to go off to college, they initially were undecided about a college major. They both eventually settled on studying music. “We knew that we were good at music and had been doing it for a long time at church, but we had a negative connotation of the study of music. When we asked what else are we good at, the only thing that came to us over and over again was music,” said Kirstie. “My other thought was English, but then I thought, I write too slowly.” The twins are penning a howto book for other students seeking academic success. The book, still in its infancy, will detail the twins’ college experience and provide pointers, such as time management for getting and keeping a 4.0. See Twins, page 4
Renowned King James Bible exhibit opens in Conyers May 29 Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible traveling exhibition will open at the Nancy Guinn Memorial Library in Conyers on May 29. The exhibit, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the first printing of the King James Bible in 1611, has traveled to 40 libraries across the county and the Nancy Guinn Memorial Library is the last stop. The story behind the King James Bible remains little known, despite the book’s enormous fame. Translated over several years by six committees of England’s top scholars, the King James Bible became the most influential English translation of the Bible and one of the most widely read books in the world. For many years, it was the predominant English-language Bible in the United States, where it is still widely read today. Even many of those whose lives have been affected by the King James Bible may not realize that less than a century before it was produced, the very idea of the Bible translated into English was considered dangerous and even criminal. “We’re very pleased to have been selected as a site for this exhibition,” said Daryl Fletcher, library director. “This exhibition shows how important the King James Bible has been in history and will help audiences to develop a new understanding of its social, INSIDE: p Community
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A visitor checks out the exhibit that’s on its way to Conyers.
cultural, literary, and religious influence over four centuries.” The traveling exhibit was organized by the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C., and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. It is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Bodleian Library University with assistance from the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas. The traveling exhibition was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities. The display consists of high-quality reproductions of rare and historic books, manuscripts, and works of art from the Folger and Bodleian collections, combined with interpretive text and related images. Through a $2,500 grant collaborative effort between Rockdale County and the Library, there will be associated programs of speakers, films and a display of the personal Bibles of a distinguished collector, Michael Morgan, author of Psalter for Christian Worship. Also, the public is invited to bring in their old family bibles for a consultation to repair or restore them. Ken Jewell, a representative of the National Library Bindery, will be present on two days with this service. Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible will be on display at the library through July 12, during regular hours. The library is located at 864 Green St., Conyers. For more information, contact Daryl Fletcher, library director 770-761-8648, ext. 124; dfletcher@conyersrockdalelibrary.org or visit www. conyersrockdalelibrary.org.
See Bible, page 9
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