A high school in the suburbs of New York City is preparing for an unusual graduation ceremony this weekend. Out of the nearly 500 students in the graduating class, 30 are twins. These twins, who are part of a tight-knit group at Long Island’s Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, have known each other since kindergarten. Their parents met through a local twins club, and some families still plan vacations together.
As graduation day approaches, the twins have been supporting each other through a group text chain to deal with their newfound attention. While they may share the same last names, these twins are all fraternal, meaning they were born from different eggs and sperm and are not identical. Many of them are of different genders.
Despite not looking alike, the bonds between these twins are strong. They share unique experiences and go through similar life stages simultaneously. Some attribute their twinning phenomenon to genetic factors, while others jokingly suggest there must be something special in the water at their school.
The high school, located in an affluent white district about 35 miles east of Manhattan, has a history of graduating classes with multiple sets of twins. Other schools across the country, such as Clovis North High School in California and Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Maryland, have also seen large numbers of graduating twins.
After graduation, most of these twins from Plainview-Old Bethpage will be heading off to various colleges and universities to continue their academic journeys.
Aiden and Chloe Manzo will both attend the University of Florida, where they will live in the same dormitory on campus and study business with different majors. Chloe jokingly stated, “We’re going to see each other a lot.” She mentioned that her mom believed it would be easier if they attended the same school for moving in, graduation, and attending sports games together.
Emma and Kayla Leibowitz are set to attend Binghamton and Syracuse University, respectively. Despite the schools being 80 miles apart, the twins plan to visit each other frequently. Emma expressed her concern about being apart from her best friend, saying, “I really can’t do anything without her.” Meanwhile, Kayla eagerly shared plans to sleep over every weekend and attend football games at each other’s schools.
On the other hand, Sydney and Kayla Jasser will pursue fashion design at separate colleges. Sydney chose the University of Delaware, while Kayla opted for Indiana University. Kayla mentioned that they could have attended the same college but decided to seek independence and have their own experiences. She believes it’s essential to explore the world on their own after being together for so long.
