Seeing double: 8 sets of twins join Iona University’s freshman class
The university held a special welcome event Wednesday for the eight sets of twins who are members of its newest class.
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Iona University is seeing double this fall.
The university held a special welcome event Wednesday for the eight sets of twins who are members of its newest class. Together, the 16 students make up roughly 2% of Iona’s freshman class.
“Statistically, it’s just unlikely to have that many sets of twins in a class of 850 freshmen,” said Kevin O’Sullivan, Iona’s senior vice president for enrollment and student affairs.
The celebration gave the twins an opportunity to meet one another for the first time and share an experience that few other students can relate to.
For some of the siblings, attending college together was always part of the plan.
Gilberto Gutierrez, of Yonkers, said coming to Iona with his twin sister, Mia, felt like the right choice because she is his best friend. Mia said being separated would have been difficult and that attending the same college was exciting.
For other twins, ending up at the same school wasn't always expected.
Abigail Carey, of Yonkers, said she knew early in her senior year that she wanted to attend Iona, but didn't know her twin brother, James, would join her. James said he initially planned to go away to college before ultimately deciding to stay closer to home.
The twins pointed to Iona's close-knit community and academics as reasons for choosing the university.
Anthony Define, of Yonkers, said he was drawn to the school because it is local and small, while his twin brother, John, said he wanted to be a teacher like others in his family.
