A set of quintuplets from New Jersey whose parents are Italian immigrants recently graduated from the same college together -- four years after missing their high school graduation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Povolo quintuplets -- Michael, Victoria, Ludovico, Ashley and Marcus are the first generation from their family to go to college and received their degrees from Montclair State University on May 13.
The siblings, who were born on July 4, 2002, each had a different major in college, but managed to complete their degrees at the same time, said Victoria during an interview with "Good Morning America."
"It was a group effort, which is why I think this is also such a big deal," she said. "Having them all work together and us work to this moment, is just really something that I'm really proud of."
During the commencement ceremony, the siblings were celebrated with huge applause and cheers from the crowd, a reaction which Victoria said she found "really heartwarming."
"Everyone was really supportive," she said. "And it felt really nice to kind of be almost like, in the good eyes of the crowd."
Joining the siblings on their special day were their parents, Silvia and Paul, as well as some other guests.
"Our mom was definitely emotional, she was crying," Victoria said. "And then our dad as well. I don't think my mom fully realizes yet the magnitude of what happened. I think it's gonna take her an extra few days to really understand it."
Despite enjoying having her siblings in the same school, Victoria said their time in college was also met with some challenges, including transportation during the beginning of their freshman year and navigating their schedules to get together due to the different classes that each of them attended.
Teen walks at graduation after completing doctoral degree at 17Victoria said she and her siblings are "definitely a close group" and often go out and do activities together.
"I think that has to do with the way that my mom raised us. We have a sign up in our house that says 'love one another.' And she always reminds us, you know, 'it's a blessing [that] you have each other.'"
Looking ahead, Victoria, who shared that she is planning to apply for medical school next year, said she is most looking forward to seeing where all her siblings go after the graduation, adding that "everyone has different plans for the future."
"I’m just really excited to see where life leads everyone else," she said.
Jonathan Koppell, the president of Montclair State University, told "GMA" that this is the school's first time having a set of quintuplets graduating at the same time, noting that the school is "enormously proud of them."
"It's a fantastic story," he explained. "First of all, what a remarkable set of siblings…they all studied different subjects. They all pursued a distinct pathway. They're all pursuing very defined plans in terms of their career. It's a terrific achievement."
As the first generation of college students in their family, Koppell said the story of the quintuplets showed the significance of access to college.
"It's not a foregone conclusion that they would be getting a college degree," he said. "And they were only able to pursue a college education because of the financial assistance that we were able to provide, in large measure based on their own achievements as students."
He continued, "If they didn't have access to college, we would then miss out on all the contributions they're going to make in medicine, in education, in business. And so it's a really great illustration of why access to college is so important."
Koppell added that the five brothers and sisters also taught us some lessons about how there should be "different pathways available for different people."
"So, you can't just have one size fits all," he said. "Human beings have different interests. And human beings have different passions.
