Quintessential achievement: Quintuplets graduate at same time from NJ college

A set of quintuplets from New Jersey walked across the stage on Monday to receive their diplomas, as all five siblings graduated from the same college in their home state.

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The Povolo quints -- Victoria, Ludovico “Vico,” Ashley, Michael and Marcus, from Totowa -- were born on July 4, 2002, and dubbed the “Five Little Firecrackers” on their first birthday. On Monday they celebrated by graduating during Montclair State University’s commencement, which was held at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.com reported.

“It’s a little emotional, a chapter of our lives coming to an end,” Vico Povolo told the news outlet.

According to a news release from the university, it is believed to be the first time that quintuplets have simultaneously graduated from a New Jersey institution of higher education.

“It’s really the last thing we’ll do all together,” Ashley Povolo told NJ.com.

While the three brothers and two sisters have “done everything together” since they were children, they each pursued a different major, according to the university.

• Victoria Povolo -- Biochemistry; minor Italian
• Ludovico Povolo -- Political Science, minor Pre-Law, Business
• Ashley Povolo -- English, Teacher Education Program, certification in P-12
• Michael Povolo -- Nutrition and Food Science, concentration Dietetics
• Marcus Povolo -- Business Administration, concentration International Business

“Montclair helped us be together, but also helped us to become our own people, with our own majors, our own interests, our own friend groups,” Victoria Povolo said in a statement. “We customized our own paths, but we got to the finish line together.”

Monday’s ceremony was particularly sweet for the siblings, who missed a traditional graduation ceremony from Passaic Valley Regional High School in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NJ.com reported.

They spent their freshmen year in Montclair’s virtual classrooms.

Getting to college was a feat for the quints -- not because they were not qualified, but because of the costs involved. The cost of sending one student to a university can be daunting, but sending five at once was mind-boggling for the siblings’ parents, Paolo and Silvia Povolo.

“We were thinking of different options. Refinance the house, ask for a loan,” Paolo Povolo told CBS News. “We were in that process when the big surprise happened.”

That surprise came in 2020 when Montclair State University offered all five full rides to the college in a financial package that totaled approximately $250,000, NJ.com reported. Because of their good grades, they were all admitted to the school as Presidential Scholars.

Now that they have graduated, the siblings will go their separate ways. Marcus has landed a job at JPMorgan Chase, according to the university. He was the only one of the five to live on campus.

Victoria is taking a year off to work and save money for medical school, where she plans to study forensic medicine.

Michael Povolo will continue at Montclair State in the fall to complete a 4+1 program, meaning after five years he will have earned both a bachelor’s and master’s in nutrition, the university said. He is a defensive midfielder for the Red Hawks’ lacrosse team and interns at an assisted living community.

Vico will work as a sales and marketing representative for Techtronic Industries in northern New Jersey.

And Ashley is completing her clinical experience as a high school advanced placement English teacher.

“I can’t speak for these guys, but I made a lot of connections, memories and friendships at Montclair State, but all good things come to an end,” Vico told NJ.com.

Their parents, who came from Italy to the United States in 1988, have described having quintuplets as “crazy, beautiful, perfect, and chaotic,” The Associated Press reported.

“We didn’t go to college,” Silvia Povolo told CBS News. “We came from another country and here they are blooming.”

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