Mom Knows Best!

by Jenni Roolf-Laster

When the time came for Damien, Danielle and Dominic Silva to chart their course in higher education, the triplets decided that mom knew best.

With her triplets cheering in support, Adriana Silva walked the stage at UIW in 2000, earning a bachelor of business administration degree. The trio decided to follow their mom to the University of the Incarnate Word.

“I had nothing to do with it. I swear!” Adriana says of their decision. “They came to me about going to school there, and I, of course, supported it. I knew it was a good school, and I was proud.”

It’s not that unusual for the sons and daughters of alumni to come back to the hallowed grounds of UIW. But the Silva triplets are in their own class – they are the first known set of triplets to be here at the same time. Each is charting success in three different academic programs and fitting into a campus that also boasts at least four sets of twins this year.

When Damien, Danielle and Dominic were in high school, they would come home at night to find their mother sitting at the kitchen table, doing homework. So the triplets would sit down and do theirs with her.

“It was kind of just a way to be together,” recalls Danielle.

However, while she and her brothers were wrestling with freshman algebra and the SAT, their mom was working to complete her bachelor’s degree through the University of the Incarnate Word’s Adult Degree Completion Program (ADCaP).

“They knew how important it was to me to graduate,” Adriana says. “So we all pitched in to help make it happen.”

The Silva students are exploring separate academic areas of the school. Damien is studying accounting and plans to work for the government. Danielle is in the nursing program and works at a nursing home on the weekends. Dominic, who plans to be a commercial pilot, is in the engineering program.

Being in separate programs helps them from spending too much time together, not that there’s much of a problem with that. The triplets still live in Spring Branch and commute to San Antonio. They also plan to stay in the area after graduation.

“Well, we’re always together,” Damien says, “our whole life.”

“You know what’s horrible?” Danielle asks. “I’ll get so mad, I mean really mad, at one of them. And then 15 minutes later, we’re laughing together. We cannot stay angry at each other.”

The siblings, like many multiple-birth children, often complete each other’s thoughts and share a unique conversational pattern.

“They have every class together,” Danielle says, pointing at her brothers.

“It’s really convenient to be together,” Dominic adds quickly. “We share books!”

“It’s a good school,” Damien says, while Danielle adds, “We like the classes.”

“(The classes are) small, which is great,” Dominic says. “I think we learn more that way.”

Now as the Silva’s near the end of their first semester, they agree the transition into college life has been much easier with two familiar faces on hand, something their mom keenly understands.

“I was so glad they stayed close,” Adriana said. “I don’t know what I would have done if they’d all left home. I love knowing they’re here, both because they’re home and because I know they’re at a good school.”