This weekend, Long Island’s Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, located in Hempstead, will witness a unique graduation ceremony. Among the nearly 500 students in this year’s graduating class, a significant number—30—are twins.
This high school’s twin graduates represent a close-knit community with roots extending back to kindergarten. Many of their parents forged friendships through a local twins club, which has helped nurture these lifelong connections. Some of the twins still coordinate family vacations, blending their journeys in and out of school.
As they approach graduation day, these students have found solace and camaraderie in a group text chain, allowing them to share their excitement as well as their nerves about the upcoming ceremony.
“It’s electric when we’re all together,” said Sydney Monka, who participated in a graduation rehearsal recent. “We’re comfortable around each other due to our shared experiences, and it’s really cool to bounce ideas off one another.”
Interestingly, all the twins in this graduating class are fraternal—born from different eggs and sperm—making them distinct in appearance, differing even in gender in numerous cases.
Yet, this does not diminish the strength of their bonds. Bari Cohen, who will be attending Indiana University in the fall, highlighted the depth that twin relationships can possess, even among those of differing genders.
“People often think that boy-girl twins are just siblings, but we share experiences that bond us,” she explained, referencing her brother, Braydon Cohen, who is off to the University of Pittsburgh.
The twins adopt a light-hearted attitude toward their unique situation, as numerous students remarked on the phenomenon that has emerged within their high school.
“I guess there’s just something in the water,” Emily Brake quipped, who plans to attend the University of Georgia this fall.
Her sister Amanda added, “We’re just lucky; it’s a coincidence.”
Others, however, believe there might be more than mere luck at play.
Arianna Cammareri shared insight about her family’s journey to parenthood, stating that her parents turned to in vitro fertilization (IVF) after years of trying to conceive. During their timeframe, it was more common for IVF to result in multiple births, including twins.
Additionally, she noted an inherited factor, saying, “I have cousins who are twins, so I guess that raised our chances.”
The prevalence of twins has been a recurring theme at Plainview-Old Bethpage. The high school has had notable numbers of twins in past years, including 10 sets in both the 2014 and 2015 graduating classes. Looking ahead, next year’s incoming freshman class boasts nine sets of twins.
Across the United States, many schools have also welcomed large sets of twins in their graduating classes. Notably, Clovis North High School in Fresno, California, had 14 pairs of twins, while Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, hosted 10 pairs.
Yet, the record for the most twins in one graduating class remains held by New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, which graduated 44 pairs of twins along with a set of triplets in 2017, as noted by the Guinness World Records.
After the graduation ceremony, most of the twins from Plainview-Old Bethpage will branch out to different colleges for their higher education.
However, some, like Aiden and Chloe Manzo, will share the same campus—both attending the University of Florida, where they’ll live in the same dormitory and both study business, albeit with differing majors.
Chloe humorously stated, “We’re going to see each other a lot,” adding that their mother likely felt it would make things simpler for logistics, from moving in to attending sports games.
Meanwhile, twins Emma and Kayla Leibowitz expressed an understandable apprehension regarding the distance that college will introduce into their lives. Emma will head to Binghamton, while Kayla will join her at Syracuse University, approximately 80 miles apart.
“I think it’s going to be really weird because we do everything together. She’s my best friend,” Emma admitted.
In response, Kayla reassured her, “We’re sleeping over every weekend. I’m coming for football games—like all of it.”
Conversely, some twins are eager to embrace independence. Sydney and Kayla Jasser are both heading into the fashion design field but have chosen different colleges: Sydney will study at the University of Delaware, whereas Kayla will enroll at Indiana University.
“We could have gone to the same college, but we wanted to be independent since we’ve always been together,” Kayla remarked. “It’s good to get out there and have our own experiences.”
As graduation day approaches, the twins face exciting new beginnings, balancing their cherished bonds with the thrill of newfound independence.
image source from：silive
