DEARBORN HEIGHTS — For most high school students, the mid-afternoon hours are reserved for hanging out with friends, eating, or perhaps taking a long, refreshing nap.

Layal, L, and Zeinab Khocheiche

But for Layal and Zeinab Khocheiche of Dearborn Heights Crestwood High School, after school time took on a whole different meaning.
Day in and day out, the twin sisters would come home and study until 7 p.m. sharpening their skills and working tirelessly to know the day’s material inside and out.

It all paid off at the end of the 2008-2009 school year as the sisters both finished among the top ten in their class.

The common denominator for the two was the emphasis placed on education by their parents.

“We were told education was the most important thing all along. Our parents made it seem like it was important and it is important so we just kind of went along with it,” said Layal Khocheiche, who finished 7th in her class with a 4.0 GPA.

Her father Jihad knew how important it was, having received a PhD in engineering, as did her mother Khadejeh, who has a Master’s in education.

By the time middle school was finished, the sisters caught on and started taking things into their own hands.

“They encouraged us to do well ever since we were little, but then when we got older, we started doing it on our own,” Layal Khocheiche said.

Layal’s sister Zeinab benefited from the study sessions in a big way as well, taking home the school’s valedictorian award for best career GPA with a 4.08.

Surprisingly, the sisters were only in a few classes together, but much of their material was the same, allowing them to help each other study together.

But they remained the best of friends throughout their time in high school and managed to see each other in the hallways, at lunch or at National Honor Society and Key Club meetings.

Both are excited to attend college next year, as Zeinab has a full ride to Wayne State for pre-med while Layal will go to Michigan-Dearborn to get her prerequisites out of the way before transferring to Wayne State to study to become a dietician, a goal that developed from her recent commitment to eating healthy.

Zeinab Khocheiche talked about her intent to study medicine.

“I find that it’s really interesting and I think I can make it in med school. I’d love to go into pediatrics so I can help kids.”

Diana Johns is one Crestwood administrator who’s seen firsthand what the sisters are capable of. Johns was an advisor in the National Honor Society and also had Zeinab Khocheiche for three classes.

“Zeinab is one of those students you would like to clone and have a classroom full of. She is cooperative, caring, and very thorough in her approach to academic studies,” wrote Johns in Zeinab Khocheiche’s letter of recommendation.

“She is consistently the type of young person who always strives to do her very best in everything she undertakes.”

Layal Khocheiche, who became the first-ever Director of Tutoring with the NHS at Crestwood, was given a similarly glowing review by Johns in her letter. Layal Khocheieche’s work using her Arabic skills to tutor three exchange students was specifically spotlighted by Johns.

“Layal is a very bright, kind, and friendly student,” she wrote. “You would have to look a long time to find a student with the same combination of intelligence and leadership skills.”

While high school was hard work for the sisters, walking away from the good times at Crestwood will be difficult, despite the wealth of opportunities that lie ahead in college.

“I’m sad and excited at the same time; sad to be leaving school behind and friends but also excited looking forward to the future,” Zeinab Khocheiche said.