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The Povolo quintuplets — Victoria, Ludovico, Ashley, Michael and Marcus — graduated from Montclair State University, the first time quintuplets have graduated from a New Jersey university.
The Povolo siblings earned degrees in five different majors.
- Victoria: Biochemistry; minor Italian
- Ludovico:, Political Science, minor Pre-Law, Business
- Ashley:, English, Teacher Education Program, certification in P-12
- Michael:, Nutrition and Food Science, concentration Dietetics
- Marcus:, Business Administration, concentration International Business
Victoria is the oldest, followed by Ludovico, Ashley, Michael and Marcus. The siblings often would meet up on campus for coffee and meals, ride to and from school together.
"I do need that closeness and seeing them all the time and being around them all the time,” Victoria said. “It completes what I need, and the others for sure think the same. We always regroup, no matter how far we’ve been, no matter where we’ve gone, we always come back and regroup.”
The quints, who live in Totowa, credited their parents with encouraging them to achieve their dreams: Dad Paolo is a building engineer for Cushman and Wakefield, and mom Silvia, an assistant housekeeping supervisor at Montclair State.
“The support that they have for us, obviously, there’s a reason why we made it this far,” Victoria says. “Our parents always encourage us to do our best, and the best doesn’t look the same for everyone, which I think is also something we learned growing up and explains why we’re all doing different things.”
The Povolos qualified for Presidential Scholarships and other grants, allowing them to attend the school tuition-free. At a meeting with guidance counselors in February 2020, they were presented with a giant replica check from Montclair State.
This marks the first time in the Povolos' lives that they'll be going in different directions.
“They’re my best friends,” Ashley said. “We’ve grown up together and literally know everything about each other. So it did hit me the other day that graduation is the last big thing that I’m going to experience with them at the same time.”
Marcus will be working at JPMorgan Chase while Victoria plans to attend medical school to study forsenic medicine. Michael, who plays for the Red Hawks lacrosse team, will continue at the school to complete a 4+1 program, earning a Master of Science in nutrition. Ludovico will be working as a sales and marketing representative for Techtronic Industries in northern New Jersey while Ashley plans to go into teaching.
The family says they plan to throw a backyard party to celebrate the graduation.
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