Meet Tony Jr. Hicks and his two sisters, Sanai and Morgan, triplets from Baltimore, Maryland, who were born preterm weighing less than 2 pounds apiece. They are now healthy and beginning their adventure as students at HBCUs in Atlanta.
These three outstanding young adults experienced difficulties from the beginning. Sharnetta Hicks, their mother, recalls the doctor’s dire forecast that she might not live more than 24 hours.
Their odds were bleak when they were born terribly prematurely one minute apart. According to The Baltimore Banner, they weighed less than two pounds and were so small that their father’s wedding band could fit around their hands.
Raising them presented enormous hurdles. “We were doing 900 diapers a month, 900 bottles a month,” said their father, Tony Hicks Sr. You had three potties upstairs and three below. We had a total of seven car seats.”
Despite all obstacles, the Hicks family committed to fostering their triplets’ faith and education. The shared ambition of attending college as a trio was driven by stories of their parents’ difficulties and aspirations.
“They’ve told me stories about the struggles they’ve gone through and how my mom wasn’t able to finish college, but then she was able to go back. And she wanted us to push through, so I’m doing it for her and I’m doing it for my dad because he wasn’t able to finish college,” Sanai said.
“Mom wants the best for all of us and taught us to want the best out of ourselves,” Tony Jr. said.
The journey was far from easy. The family relentlessly pursued scholarships, recognizing the financial hurdles of sending three children to college.
“It’s very expensive for one child, let alone three, so they expressed numerous times… you have to be on top of your scholarships,” Morgan said.
Now, Morgan and Sanai are enrolled at Spelman College in Atlanta, while Tony Jr. studies across the street at Morehouse College — a remarkable accomplishment for this tight-knit trio.
“I feel like being able to do this and actually being from Baltimore shows that you can do this, you just have to put in the work,” Sanai added.
“And I’ve taught that to my kids,” Sharnetta said. “When everything just seems messed up, just know that something great is around the corner.”
With aspirations to become a biomedical engineer, an attorney, and an aerospace engineer, the triplets, alongside their parents, are not only making themselves proud but also their beloved city of Baltimore.
