A set of quintuplets from New Jersey have not only made their family proud, but made history with their graduation from Montclair State University on the same day — in wildly different fields.
Victoria, Vico, Ashley, Michael, and Marcus Povolo, 21, were all cheered on by their parents at their school’s commencement ceremony on Monday as they walked across the stage, the New York Post reported.
The Italian American family, with parents Paolo and Silvia having immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1980’s, had been locally known in their town of Totowa, New Jersey, after having a set of five babies in 2002. The siblings were even nicknamed the “Five Little Firecrackers” by local media after their Independence Day birth that year.
Now, they’re back in the headlines for being the first set of quintuplets to have “simultaneously graduated from a New Jersey higher education institution,” Montclair State University said in a statement.
“It was super emotional, I was very, very excited,” Vico told the Post. “We didn’t have a traditional high school graduation ceremony during the COVID pandemic, so it was a full circle moment.”
For Silvia, her kids’ milestone achievement caused her to feel emotional.
“It came so fast and it’s so amazing that these kids pulled through it,” the proud mom said, recalling how the siblings entered the university in the middle of the coronavirus restrictions.
“There was a really a lot of emotion. I cried, I laughed, I screamed,” Silvia added.
Even though they share a close quintuplet bond, each sibling has honed-in on their own interests and graduated in different majors to achieve their dreams.
Victoria studied biochemistry and is planning to use her degree in medical school next.
Ashley is passionate about education and is about to finish up with her clinical experience as a high school advanced placement English teacher.
Vico is jumping head-first into the sales and marketing industry as a rep for tool and equipment company Techtronic Industries, and Marcus is diving into a new role at financial services firm JPMorgan Chase.
Michael, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science, is set to continue his education at Montclair in the fall to get his Master of Science in Nutrition and also coaches youth lacrosse.
“I’m excited to see what the future holds,” he said. “But being with my siblings and graduating together, that’s all that counts.”
Silvia says her children are hardworking due to their “strict” upbringing.
“I’m not really surprised that they’re so diligent,” she said. “These kids grew up in a very strict house.”
“I didn’t give my kids two chances, because of how many there were,” the quintuplet-mom added. “With five of them, I couldn’t really play around.”
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