Triplets take on campus life together this fall

From left: Janelle, Jayla and Jamie Litan. The triplets are first-year students at McMaster, studying across three faculties: Social Sciences, Business and Humanities. (Photo by Matt Clarke)

How do three sisters end up choosing the same university?

For triplets Janelle, Jamie and Jayla Litan, the decision to come to McMaster was “unanimous.”

The trio, who are from Calgary, considered schools in both Alberta and Ontario – and splitting up. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world, but they were hoping to go to the same school.

When university acceptances started rolling in, Mac stood out for them. “It was our first choice,” said Jamie. “We like the balance of social life and academics… we could come and get a good education, but we can also meet new people.”

All three of them also received McMaster Brighter World Entrance Awards, which celebrate the achievements of Black students entering a Level 1 program.

They’re starting classes this week, across three faculties: Janelle in the Faculty of Social Sciences, for Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour; Jamie in the Faculty of Humanities, for Justice, Political Philosophy and Law; and Jayla in the DeGroote School of Business, for Commerce.

Though they’re new in Hamilton, they say that campus already feels like home.

That’s largely due to Welcome Week reps making them feel comfortable from the start. “The reps have been super, super helpful,” said Janelle. “They just reassured me, like, ‘If you have any questions, feel free to ask.’”

One rep gave Janelle a piece of powerful advice: That university would be hard. But you can put in the work, and you’ve already come far. “I was starting to doubt myself,” Janelle said. “It gave me the reassurance that I needed.”

Welcome to McMaster

Janelle, Jamie and Jayla have jumped right into campus life and making friends, with Welcome Week activities through their residence – they’re sharing a triple room on campus – the Black Student Success Centre, and faculty-specific activities.

They’re all excited for the educational journey ahead, and more: Jamie for lectures and big classes, Janelle to discover new interests and connect with peers, Jayla for the commerce program’s internships and exploring her future career.

“We’re just excited to see what McMaster has to offer,” Janelle said. “We are all going down different paths and we’re all going to learn different things, and teach each other something new.”