Montclair State surprises quintuplets with full-tuition scholarships

In less than a minute, the worry of how Silvia and Paolo Povolo were going to pay for their quintuplets' college tuition vanished.

Montclair State University surprised the family at Passaic Valley Regional High School on Monday morning with full-tuition scholarships for Ashley, Marcus, Masha, Michael and Victoria.

From their birth on July 4, 2002, until 9 a.m. Monday, the couple from Totowa had worried about paying for five college tuition bills at one time.

"We had been thinking since the first day: How are we going to do this?" Paolo Povolo said.

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The couple had considered another mortgage on their home as their high school seniors took tours of The College of New Jersey and Rutgers and Drew universities, in hopes of finding a workable financial plan.

The family was greeted by the Montclair State University admissions officers with an oversized check made out to the Povolos. MSU's mascot, Rocky the Red Hawk, was on hand to give out hugs and congratulations to the family as they walked into the Passaic Valley Regional High School guidance office.

The university had decided last month that it would pay for the tuition of the five 17-year-old siblings.

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"It was a no-brainer," said MSU Admissions Director Jeffrey Gant. "These are all high-achieving students."

Victoria, who had spoken with Gant about a month ago, was in on the surprise. The challenge was keeping it a secret and getting the family together at the high school in Little Falls.

The siblings had not finalized any college plans before the surprise.

"It's wild," Ashley said. Her tearful mother, Silvia Povolo, said she was "in shock" after learning the news.

"It is something settled for us," Marcus said.

The university will pay $65,000 annually in tuition for all five. The family will save about $325,000 over four years.

"This is a beautiful thing," Passaic Valley Superintendent JoAnn Cardillo said.

The Povolos are the second multiple-birth family to go through the high school. Four years earlier, the Fitzgerald quadruplets — Alexa, Zachary, Lauren and Nicole — graduated.

The Povolos all have different career paths in mind. Victoria wants to be a forensic pathologist, Ashley to teach secondary education, Michael to be a dietitian, Marcus to be a lawyer and Masha to be an accountant.

The quintuplets have come a long way.

When they were born, all preemies who weighed 2 pounds, friends and family pitched in to help the parents.

A grandmother was flown from Italy to help the more than a dozen neighborhood volunteers who assisted with bottles, baths and bags of dirty laundry. The siblings were born at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson and took over the family's modest two-bedroom apartment in Woodland Park. The family has since moved to Totowa to a home with a backyard, a wish come true for Silvia Povolo.

Now the mother's wish is to see her children attend college.

Email: fagan@northjersey.com Twitter: @fagan_nj