Identical twins named valedictorian, salutatorian at high school
The two want to study engineering in college.
— -- A pair of identical twins have achieved the highest academic honors at their New York high school by being named valedictorian and salutatorian.
Nick Rizzo and his brother Matt are 17-year-old seniors at Locust Valley High School. Nick earned the valedictorian title with a 107.9 GPA, while Matt was awarded salutatorian with a 107.77 GPA.
"I was hopeful, but I never 100 percent believed it would happen," Matt Rizzo told ABC News today. "I felt kind of overwhelmed because my hard work has paid off and I spent so much time studying for tests. If I had to share it with someone else, it wouldn't have been as joyful. We would've felt someone was left out and we like to include each other, we're brothers."
When they're not hitting the books, the Rizzo twins of Locust Valley, New York, participate in the robotics club, track, bowling and cross country. As sophomores, they were co-founders of their school's computer engineering club.
Principal Kieran McGuire described the boys as "extraordinary students" who are "very bright."
"[T]hey have mastered the art of time management at a very early age and the added bonus that they have is that little competition that they have between each other, which is very friendly," McGuire told ABC News.
Nick Rizzo said his peers predicted the twins' scholarly fete.
"They definitely know how hard we work," Nick said. "Whenever we are in class with someone they say, 'Oh we have the Rizzos, they'll be helping us out!'"
The boys' dad, Nicholas Rizzo, said he is proud of their achievements.
"I give all the credit to my kids," Rizzo told ABC News. "We don't push them to do what they do. It's their work ethic, it's incredible. They have their extra curricular activities as well and they excel and that."
The twins will graduate high school on June 24 and may give a joint address to their fellow students and faculty.
Nick and Matt are undecided on which colleges they'll attend, or if they'll attend together. They both hope to study engineering.