Despite their different ages and interests, siblings Javail and Xavier Bourne and Jeremy March are all entering Cornell this fall. The three -- all Ithaca High School graduates who share the same mom -- were raised together their entire lives by their grandmother.

Javail, 18, will enter Cornell right out of high school as a freshman, while Xavier, 19, and Jeremy, 20, are transferring to the Big Red. Xavier will enter as a sophomore, transferring from Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens, N.Y. Jeremy graduated from Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) this past May and will be a junior.

These "three exceptional siblings have demonstrated their strong motivation and intellect," said mentor Leon Lawrence, recently retired assistant director of Cornell's former Office of Minority Educational Affairs, now part of the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives. "They're very focused, no-nonsense." Lawrence first met Xavier when he introduced himself to the then-11th grader on the morning bus. Through Xavier, he met Javail and Jeremy, developing a close relationship with all three students, who have been active in the community, he said.

Both Xavier and Javail participated in a college preparatory program at Ithaca High School that included tutors from Cornell "The tutors from AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) really talked about their experiences in college and their family backgrounds, and I realized that I could do the same thing," said Javail.

All three, said Lawrence, are determined to "continue being successful students and their family tradition of giving back to the community," he said.

Javail, who has worked weekends at Burger King and was the recipient of multiple awards for her academic achievements, will be a development sociology major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and hopes to focus on domestic development to learn about social policy and programs. She has been active in her church and volunteers at food giveaways and in a local soup kitchen.

Jeremy, who works weekends at Wegmans and underwent gamma knife radiation earlier this year for a low-grade malignant brain tumor, will also study development sociology to complement his criminal justice major at TC3, where he was president of the TC3 chapter of Phi Theta Kappa and of the Athletics Advisory Board. He plans to minor in law and society, get involved in the Men of Color Council and Black Students United, and is considering pledging a fraternity and joining crew.

Xavier, who also worked nights and weekends at Burger King, will attend the School of Hotel Administration to pursue his interest in airport management, and he plans to check out a variety of clubs, especially related to sports.

Xavier and Jeremy were active in the Ithaca Police Explorer Post, which gives students interested in a career in law enforcement experience in traffic control, crime prevention events and other community service projects.

All three students expressed excitement about their first semester. "I'm mostly excited because, you know, it's Cornell ... I have a bunch of friends who are going and they're telling me it's a great experience," said Xavier.

Although they may be a little nervous, they look forward to having each other for support. "I'm really excited to actually see them on campus," said Jeremy. "I'm a little nervous about the demand and rigor of the school. It's going to be different from TC3, but I think I've prepared myself, and we'll see how it turns out."

Javail and Jeremy were admitted to Cornell through the State University of New York's Educational Opportunity Program and Xavier via the state's Higher Education Opportunity Program; both programs offer support and financial aid to low-income students who would not otherwise be able to attend a university like Cornell. In addition, all three will receive Cornell financial aid. Other siblings attracted to Cornell through these programs this year are twins Lisa and Jenny Feng and Linda and Diana Zhu.

Erica Rhodin '12 is a student writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.