You may have to go all the way to Paris to see the Mona Lisa painting, but right on campus students can see Mona and Lisa Gora, freshman twins.

The girls said when their mother was pregnant she unaware she was having twins. She had no ultrasound and the girls had the exact same heartbeat. Mona, whose real name is Monique, was born first and unexpectedly; Lisa came second. Their parents named the surprise baby Lisamarie, but she is more commonly called Lisa.

“It just flows better, it’s a nickname, no one has called me Lisamarie,” Lisa said.

The twins, who prefer the nicknames Mona and Lisa, were planning on changing their name legally, but decided to keep their full names for when they get older.

Although they are not as world-renowned as the famous painting, it is certain most students on campus have taken a double look when the twins walk by.

Mona and Lisa are both majoring in Legal Studies, and want to be lawyers. They hope their brother, Richard, who is a currently a Quinnipiac law student will pave the way by opening up a firm in which the girls will work, naming it “Gora, Gora, and Gora.”

“It’s our parents dream,” Lisa said.

The twins are in all of the same classes and even when placed on different sides of the room, professors still don’t know who is who.

“In class, I don’t bother talking,” Mona said. “The teacher doesn’t know who we are so we both get participation [points].”

The girls think alike, and have been accused of plagiarizing from each other.

“Professors are always suspicious of plagiarism. We are twins though. We think the same way,” Mona said. “The same thing triggers our minds.” Lisa said, “All of our grades are the same.”

Aside from being twin sisters, they are also best friends and roommates.

“I don’t think they wanted twins to live together,” Mona said, “but it would be a waste of a room since we are always together.”

According to Mona and Lisa, being a twin has its benefits. One plus is that they always have a best friend.

“You’ll always see us together,” Lisa said. “We always have someone to talk to.”

The girls said they have the same friends. “Me and Mona always get close to the same people. There’s only one or two [people] that she knows better,” Lisa said.

“You always have someone there. Friends aren’t the same as sisters,” Lisa said.

It is true twins share a strong bond, and Lisa said it makes the bond stronger by being honest and telling each other the “straight out truth and knowing they won’t get offended.”

Since Mona is a member of Student Government, there are a few people who they have not met together. In this case, Mona’s friends wave and smile at Lisa.

When greeted by a stranger, “I know automatically they know Mona,” Lisa said.

Mixing up these identical twins is very easy, but the girls completely understand. Although some people try to look at their student ID cards to figure out who they are, the girls try make it easier.

“We give context clues, I’ll say ‘Mona is doing this right now,'” Lisa said. “It’s no ones fault they can’t tell us apart.”

The fact that it is so hard to tell which one is which can be used to their benefit.

Having a double can be used in secretive ways. Mona and Lisa have played a couple of tricks such as switching clothes and pretending to be each other. They said they have not done anything too deceiving, but have used their twin to confront a crush or cover for work.

“In high school, she was better at religion, and I was better at history, so we switched for the final,” Mona said.

Aside from the benefits of being twins, there are a few problems. “We are always counted as one person,” Mona said. “People always say “the twins.” No one knows which one did it, [but] we are our own individuals too.”

Another downside of being a twin is getting involved in romantic relationships. “Guys can’t tell us apart,” Mona said.

In the end, the girls agreed that having each other is a positive aspect of their life.