This weekend, a high school in the New York City suburbs is gearing up for a graduation celebration that’s a bit unique. Out of nearly 500 graduating students at Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School in Plainview, Long Island, there are 30 sets of twins.
It’s quite a close-knit community.
Some of these students have known each other since their parents connected through a local Twins club, and, in fact, a few still make family vacations plans together.
Recently, some of the twins have been chatting among themselves via a group text, which has been helpful as they navigate the excitement and nerves leading up to the big day.
“Honestly, when we’re all together, the energy in the room is amazing,” said Sidney Monka after attending a rehearsal with her twin peers earlier this week.
“We’re just comfortable with each other; it really makes for a cool atmosphere,” she added.
While they’re all twins, they aren’t identical.
In fact, when they walk across the stage during the ceremony at Hofstra University, you might not easily spot a pair, aside from their common last names.
All these twins are fraternal, meaning they each come from separate eggs and sperm, so they look quite different.
Many of the twins are boys and girls.
Bali Cohen, who will be heading to Indiana University this fall, noted that having a twin doesn’t necessarily mean you’re emotionally closer. “People think it’s just like a sibling relationship, especially with boy-girl twins, but it’s a bit deeper than that because we’re experiencing similar things in our lives,” she explained regarding her brother, Braydon, who will attend the University of Pittsburgh.
They often joke about the quirky phenomenon of having a large number of twins in a well-off, predominantly white town about 35 miles east of Manhattan.
“There’s definitely something interesting going on here,” Emily Brake, a University of Georgia student, remarked with a laugh.
“We’re pretty lucky, and I think it’s just coincidence,” chimed in her sister Amanda, who goes to Ohio State.
Others, though, believe there’s a bit more science involved.
Arianna Cammareri shared that her parents faced years of challenges trying to conceive, ultimately resorting to in vitro fertilization, which tends to lead to higher chances of twins.
Her family does have a history of twinning, which she thinks increases the likelihood of having twins.
Interestingly, it’s not unusual to see a lot of twins graduating from Bethpage in Plainview.
Previously, the school had a decade-long stretch with 10 consecutive classes featuring multiple pairs of twins.
Across the nation, other schools also have notable numbers of graduating twins. For instance, Clovis North High School in Fresno, California, has 14 pairs, while Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, has 10 pairs.
Last year, a school in suburban Boston reported having 23 sets of twins, yet they’re still shy of the record for the most multiples in a single graduating class. That record goes to New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, with 44 twin and triplet pairs back in 2017.
As graduation approaches, many of the twins from Bethpage are set to pursue various universities.
However, Aiden and Chloe Manzo are breaking that trend; both will attend the University of Florida, living in the same dorm. They have different majors, but it seems they’ll still share plenty of time together.
“We’re definitely going to run into each other a lot,” Chloe admitted.
“Mom thought it would be easier for us to go to the same school,” she added with a smile.
“It’s like moving on, graduating, and enjoying life,” they said.
Some have expressed concern about being far from their lifelong companions.
For instance, Emma and Kayla Leibowitz are headed to Binghamton and Syracuse University, respectively, which are about 80 miles apart in upstate New York. “It’s going to feel really strange because we do everything together. She’s my best friend; it’s hard to imagine doing things without her,” Emma said.
“We hang out every weekend, attend football games together – you name it,” added Kayla.
On the flip side, a few are looking forward to some independence.
Sydney and Kayla Jasser, both studying fashion design, chose different universities for a more separate experience. Sydney is off to the University of Delaware, while Kayla will be at Indiana University.
“We could have gone to the same place, but we’ve been together for so long that we wanted space to grow,” Kayla shared.
“It’s great to have our own adventures,” Sydney agreed.
