COVID-19 may have thrown the educational system into turmoil but it didn’t stop Gianna and Rebecca Morales from making their mark as they graduate from Farmingdale High School. The sisters become the first identical twins to graduate as valedictorian and salutatorian respectively.
(Photo courtesy of the Farmingdale School District)
Gianna will graduate as valedictorian with a weighted GPA of 104.770 and an AP Scholar with Distinction Award while sibling Rebecca will graduate as salutatorian with a weighted GPA of 104.707. The duo were surprised to find out about this distinction by the school administration in late September of the current school year.
“We were in our calculus class in school and we got a call over the intercom asking us to go to the guidance office,” Rebecca recalled. “We walked into the guidance office and Mrs. Molina, our guidance teacher, asked us if we still wanted to change our gym class period, because we had been trying to change it since it was still early in the year. And she told us that we would have to go request permission from Dr. Thompson, our principal in his office. So then, we went from the guidance office into the main office where his office is. As soon as we walked into his office, there were people clapping and a photographer taking pictures.”
The duo’s considerable accomplishments reflect the combination of drive, intelligence and deep curiosity that enabled the duo to achieve such heights in their young academic careers. Among the sisters’ numerous activities, honors, and awards include National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, Tri-M Music National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society. Both Morales ladies placed in the top 10 in protein modeling in the 2019 Science Olympiad Competition and shadowed Dr. Cristina Sardinha—a colorectal surgeon of Progressive Surgical Care and Northwell Health Hospital at LIJ Medical Center.
(Photo courtesy of the Farmingdale School District)
Gianna and Rebecca also served as co-presidents of the National Spanish Honor Society and served on the key club, the former as president and the latter as her vice president. In addition, the Morales sisters were active in the school band and on the varsity soccer team. Gianna was the leader of her French horn section, prepared halftime performances for varsity football games and the starting defender for the varsity soccer team, where she received Scholar Athlete recognition. Rebecca was the clarinet section leader, where she helped her fellow musicians prepare halftime performances for varsity football games. Rebecca also served as Farmingdale High School’s varsity soccer goalkeeper, where she earned both the All-Conference and All-Division player awards, and is the record holder for Varsity Track and Field 4x800m, receiving Scholar Athlete recognition.
All this is par for the course as far as Thompson is concerned.
“Gianna and Rebecca are two of the most pleasant, inspirational, and intellectual students that have passed through our halls; they are role models for everyone,” he said.
Being inextricably linked as twins means that the siblings constantly have to remind people that they are their own person, a point Gianna is quick to make.
“One of the challenges we’ve dealt with is trying to have a sense of individuality throughout the years,” she said. “Because everybody always sees us as one person rather than two different people. And we find that our personalities are very different. Rebecca is a lot more quiet and reserved and I’m more outgoing and outspoken. But a lot of times people just group us together as one.”
Both sisters will continue their educational journey together as they will attend Cornell University as biology majors. Gianna will be pursuing a pre-med path with a neuroscience concentration while Rebecca will be targeting a pre-med orthopedics.
