Identical smiles.  Identical triplets.  Identical degrees.  Amy, Jan and Laura Domeyer have shared much in their lives, and during Winona State University’s spring 2005 Commencement Ceremony, the three sisters celebrated together as they graduated from WSU with degrees in business administration.

As children, the three sisters were identical in many ways.  They got their first tooth in the same place.  They got their first cavity in the same tooth.  Their mother had to pin their diapers with different colored pins to tell them apart.  Even to this day their father occasionally mistakes them for one another.  And since the sisters belonged to the same fraternity, shared many of the same classes, and worked at Fastenal Corporation in Winona, the girls agree that with so many similarities it’s easy for others to overlook what makes them unique.

“A lot of people who know us simply refer to us as ‘The Triplets,’” Laura said. 

“I think it’s easy to forget we’re individuals,” Amy added.  “We even try to wear our hair differently so people can tell us apart.”

“It’s our personalities that are really different,” Jan said.  “We’re not as identical as everyone thinks.”  Each girl made a particular point of highlighting her own individuality. 

Amy said she’s more “social.”  Laura said she’s more “direct” and likes to “take initiative.”  Jan said she’s probably more “laid back” than her sisters. 

The girls each mentioned, however, there are advantages to being identical triplets while being college students.

“We’ve had many of the same classes,” Amy said, “so if one us was sick, another could take notes and get assignments.”

“Sharing textbooks has been a big plus,” Jan said.

“Yeah.  We’ve saved a lot of money sharing books,” Laura agreed.

“I suppose we could have posed as one another, but most of our teachers would probably have recognized us,” Amy said.

Judith Bovinet, WSU professor of business administration, said she’s taught each of the girls and remembers the sisters were occasionally worried they were being confused with each other.

“Sometimes I’d be talking to Amy and she’d look at me a little funny and say, ‘I’m Amy,’ as if worried I had forgotten.  And I’d say, ‘I know.’  It didn’t take long to see how unique they were.  It was so much fun having them in class,” Bovinet said.  “They’re such wonderful girls.”

Even though the girls are all business administration majors, they’re going in different directions with their degrees.  Jan said Amy and Laura both minored in accounting and would like to build a career at Fastenal Corporation, but she preferred to minor in marketing and move away after school.

“I plan on moving to the Twin Cities and getting a job there,” Jan said.

“Even though our education background is similar, we each have different plans after graduation,” Laura said.  “But only our close friends and family seem to see that.”

Amy mentioned that their father had a significant influence on their plans for the future, which helped lead them to Winona State.

“Our dad is in banking at Wells Fargo, and he suggested a business degree would help all of us in almost any job we wanted,” Amy said.

“We’re also from Winona and Winona State is a good university,” Jan said.  “So it was smart for all of us to get our business degrees here.”

The girls’ mother, Celia Domeyer, said her identical daughters are not the only ones in the Domeyer family who graduated from Winona State. 

“I received a degree in business administration from WSU, and my oldest daughter, Andrea, earned a paralegal degree,” Celia said.  “So, five of our six family members have received diplomas from Winona State.” 

Celia said she and her husband are proud of their daughters and can’t believe they’ve grown up so fast.

“It’s just wonderful they’ve graduated from college,” Celia said. “We’re so happy for them.”