The phrase “siblings share genes but not lifestyle traits” doesn’t apply to the Shulgan brothers. Sophomore Thomas Shulgan and freshman Daniel Shulgan have held a close sibling connection and furthered their relationship through sports. The Shulgan brothers ski with their sister, HHS graduate Ella Shulgan, in the winter purely for recreational purposes and do not compete in races.

“Our sister first got us into skiing at a very young age,” Daniel Shulgan said. “[Our] dad used to ski with us as well when we were first learning, but he outgrew the sport, and we started going together just the two of us. We try to go skiing most weekends with friends but don’t have a specific schedule because neither of us ski competitively.”

Thomas has hopes to take a job at Massanutten next year as a senior ski instructor.

The Shulgan brothers not only ski and snowboard together, but also play on the JV soccer team as well. The two were previously homeschooled before freshman year and played travel soccer in the spring and fall, giving them prior experience equipping them for soccer at HHS.

As well as skiing and soccer, they also run indoor track during the winter.

“[Daniel and I] were very well conditioned for track because we play soccer in the spring and fall, so running has always been a big part of our athletic lives,” Thomas Shulgan said. “At the beginning of indoor track we both set time goals that we wanted to shave off of our best runs. We pushed each other to achieve that goal, and it was really nice having someone to do that.”

Although the Shulgan brothers hold most of their connections through physical activities, they are also fluent in Russian.

“Both our parents are from Belarus,where the main language spoken is Russian, so we were taught English and Russian simultaneously,” Thomas Shulgan said. “I’m very thankful that our parents got us to learn another language because being bilingual in a diverse town such as Harrisonburg is very important. It’s really nice being able to talk to someone else in a different language that most people that you’re around don’t know.”

Thomas Shulgan feels his relationship with his brother is a very tight bond that was strengthened through the multiple activities they share.

”Most of our similarities are tied to sports, but thats just because Daniel and I have always been competitive and that’s just the way its been all our lives,” Shulgan said. “We share lots of similarities but that’s just what all siblings should have.”