October 30, 2024
By Mikey Fuller

Ethan and Nathan Morlu have always done things together growing up as identical twins. They played musical instruments, wrestled in middle and high school, became Eagle Scouts, and love Super Smash Bros.

Now, they’re both third-year students in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, on a Georgia Tech journey together.

But when it came time to pick which college to attend after high school, the twins knew they might have to split up.

“I knew that college would be much more fun going with my twin, but we did have an agreement that we would separate if we ended up liking different colleges,” Ethan says. “I’m really happy that we get to share our college experience.”

Coming from the suburbs of Northern Virginia, they both considered attending an engineering school closer to home. However, when their decision came down to the wire, the twins say a tour of Georgia Tech’s campus sealed the deal.

“I chose Georgia Tech because out of all the colleges that I visited, it felt the most welcoming and had the richest show of tradition and school spirit,” Nathan says. “Being from Virginia, I was surprised that Georgia Tech felt more like a home away from home than any of the in-state schools I was considering.”

Ethan was a little more skeptical of going to a school in the middle of a city that’s 10 hours away from home, but he changed his mind after what he saw on the Georgia Tech tour.

“I really loved the campus atmosphere and design on our visit,” Ethan says. It’s beautiful and welcoming, and I was able to see myself going here. Another reason is that Georgia Tech’s program for mechanical engineering can’t be beat. No other school we toured could touch it. I wanted to be challenged academically while also having the prestige of a Georgia Tech degree.”

Georgia Tech was also one of the only schools to give them both a scholarship.

The twins are involved in several groups around campus like the Wrestling Club at Georgia Tech, which Nathan, the club president, and Ethan, treasurer, started together. They have wrestled since middle school but always stayed one weight class apart so they never had to wrestle off for a starting spot. They both say missing the sport after high school pushed them to start the club.

They’re also executive board members for Pi Tau Sigma, the Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, the Residence Hall Association (RHA), and members of Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society.

Ethan and Nathan both agree that always having a study buddy and being able to compare notes on the same classes is one of the benefits of having your twin go to the same school.

One downside of being a twin, Nathan says, is the confusion it causes their classmates and professors.

“Some of our professors and classmates don’t know there are two of us,” Nathan says. “There have been times when one of Ethan’s professors or classmates will approach and have a full conversation with me. I don’t always realize that they know Ethan, and it becomes awkward for me quickly. I haven’t hurt anyone’s feelings yet, so I think I’ve done a pretty good job navigating those situations."

When it comes down to who is the “good twin” or the “bad twin,” both brothers admit that the other is the good twin.

Ethan describes his brother as the more outgoing and funnier twin. Nathan says despite being an upstanding citizen who gets good grades, he has gotten what is dubbed “the look” from their mother way more than Ethan over the years. “The look,” Nathan says, generally means that someone has crossed a line that shall not be crossed.

The twins hope to use their mechanical engineering degrees after they graduate. Ethan hopes to go into manufacturing and possibly get his master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Nathan plans to explore as many possibilities as he can over the next year to narrow down his choices.