Nine of Wagner College’s 14 freshman twins gathered at a campus landmark for a group photo (above). From left to right: Pat and Bill McMenamin, Laynee and Lexee Viniotis, Pete Romano, Phil Adamo, Joe Romano, and Rob and Emily Bovasso. (Credit: Wagner College photo/Anna Mulé)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Wagner College’s new freshman class includes seven sets of twins.
Now, having 14 students who happen to be twins out of a first-year class of 450 students would be about average — but all those twins choosing to come, together, to the same school?
That’s distinctly out of the ordinary!
“The reason my twin Lexee and I came to Wagner is because we wanted the small liberal arts college feel while being close to NYC,” explained freshman Laynee Viniotis of suburban Seattle, Wash. “I loved the small, close-knit feel on campus and on Staten Island — and Wagner offered great academic programs for both of our majors and had plenty of art programs and athletics that we could participate in!”
Lexee Viniotis told much the same story.
“My sister Laynee and I are best friends and thought it would be weird to be apart from each other for long periods of time,” Lexee said. “For myself, I was excited about Wagner’s 5-year microbiology master’s program as well as the dance, choir, band and theater programs the school had to offer. We visited campus a second time last spring and fell in love with the school — it was even more beautiful than I had remembered, and everyone was really welcoming. It seemed like the perfect fit, especially with the city so close by.”
Emily Bovasso, a freshman from Cranford, N.J., came to Wagner College with her brother Robert.
“My brother and I never planned on coming to school together. This was actually the only school that we were both interested in,” Emily said. “It just so happened that he really liked the business program, and I liked the science department — and we both loved the location and the size of the school.”
Emily and Robert Bovasso are actually two members of a set of triplets. Their brother Anthony “decided to stay home and attend community college for a couple of years.”
Besides Lexee and Laynee Viniotis and Emily and Robert Bovasso, Wagner College’s freshman class includes five other sets of twins, drawn to the school by its location, small classes and distinctive curriculum:
- Phillip and Matthew Adamo, Morristown, N.J.
- Peter and Joseph Romano, Bushkill, Pa.
- Patrick and William McMenamin, Longport, N.J.
- Griffen and Reed LeClaire, Surrey, B.C., Canada
- Nicole and Alexandra Dattoli, Staten Island, N.Y.