(NEWSnet/AP) — A set of quintuplets from New Jersey are graduates of the same school in their home state.

The Povolo quintuplets received their degrees Monday from Montclair State University.

The two girls, Victoria and Ashley, and three boys, Ludovico, Michael and Marcus, say it has been an “emotional” time as a chapter of their lives comes to a close.

The Totowa family says the school gave them the chance to explore inadidvidual academic interests and extracurricular activities.

“We are fortunate enough to all be graduating with diplomas and that kind of thing, and doing it with our very best friends — these are definitely my best friends, so doing it all together is awesome,” Ludovico Totowa said.

Their college commencement also was special because they were unable to attend a graduation ceremony at Passaic Valley Regional High School, which canceled the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their parents, Silvia and Paul, came from Italy to the United States in 1988, and have described having quintuplets as “crazy, beautiful, perfect and chaotic.”

“I don’t see (graduation) as my accomplishment, but their accomplishment,” Silvia Povolo said. “I’m just sitting in the corner and waiting for them to take off.”

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