Staff photo / R. Michael Semple Pictured are 13 of the 14 twins in McDonald High School’s Class of 2021. Of the seven groups, six have been together since kindergarten, and all of them have been together since first grade. Of the 72 soon to be graduates, twins make up more than 19 percent. Front, from left, are Ethan and Emma O’Connell, and Kathryn and Gregory Merdich. Middle row, from left, are Tara Mulrooney and Diana and Nikolina Drobnjak. Back row, from left, are Rylie and James Mays; Maddy and Molly Howard; and Nick and Mike Ferradino. Not pictured is Collin Mulrooney, Tara’s brother.

McDONALD — In a graduating class of 72 students at McDonald High School, twins make up more than 19 percent.

Gregory and Kathryn Merdich; Mike and Nick Ferradino; James and Rylie Mays; Maddy and Molly Howard; Emma and Ethan O’Connell; Nikolina and Diana Drobnjak; and Tara and Collin Mulrooney comprise the astounding seven sets of twins of the Class of 2021 set to get their diplomas Saturday.

“When you get a small district like McDonald, to have this happen is not only once in a lifetime, it may never happen again,” Superintendent Kevin O’Connell said.

His children, Emma and Ethan, are among the sets of twins.

What sets this group of soon-to-be-graduates apart is that six of the seven have been together since kindergarten, and the seventh was added in first grade. Since then, the 14 students have been bound by the unique circumstance.

“It’s so unique. Most large schools wouldn’t even have seven sets of twins, so for McDonald to have that big of a portion is special and something these kids have bonded with over 13 years,” Kevin O’Connell said.

From a father’s perspective, O’Connell said seeing the group “grow from kindergarten to seniors, going from 5- and 6-year-old kids to young men and women with college aspirations and professional goals” is special.

For the 14, none of them think it strange that a good number of their graduating class are twins. In fact, growing up with the other sets was a relief because they could relate with others. A general consensus among them is excitement for the pending graduation and great memories of growing up together.

Almost all of the seniors are planning to attend college, but only a handful of them are going to the same school.

“I’m happy to see them all graduating and I’m looking forward to see what they do in the future,” high school principal Gary Carkido said.

GREGORY AND KATHRYN MERDICH

Gregory and Kathryn were the last set of twins to join in first grade.

“We rarely ever meet twins, and to know six other sets in the same graduating class is wild but pretty cool,” Gregory said.

He plans on attending Ohio Northern University to play football and major in accounting.

“It’s crazy,” Kathryn said. “You hardly ever meet twins and knowing there’s so many other sets, it’s cool. There’s other people you can relate to and go through the same things as you, and it’s so cool at the same time. It’s a cool experience to go through school with all of them. No one else will get to experience something like that. We will always have that memory.”

Kathryn said she’s headed to Cleveland State University to study pharmacy.

MIKE AND NICK FERRADINO

“It’s unique, but it’s not too weird because I’ve been with them all throughout school,” Mike said. “I think of all of them as my friends and classmates. It’s crazy though; it happens once in a lifetime.”

Mike will be attending Kent State University’s Salem campus to study applied horticulture.

“I grew up with six other sets of twins, so to me it’s always been normal and I never thought it was anything special until I realized it doesn’t happen anywhere else. So now it’s cool to think about,” Nick said.

He will be going to Youngstown State University to major in finance.

JAMES AND RYLIE MAYS

Both James and Rylie said seven sets of twins aren’t even a thought to them after growing up with the group.

“It was weird at first, but after all this time I don’t find it weird at all. I think it’s pretty cool that we’re the only class to have seven sets of twins. I wish the best of luck for all of them,” James said.

James said he was thinking about going into journalism, but he is not entirely sure what the future holds.

“I’ve been here since kindergarten, and I’ve known these people my whole life. So it’s not even a second thought to me anymore,” Rylie said.

Rylie said she is entering in the veterinary technician program at Eastern Gateway Community College.

MADDY AND MOLLY HOWARD

Maddy and Molly are one of the two sets of identical twins. Both agree having seven sets of twins in a graduating class is remarkable.

“It’s unheard of, and it’s something to brag about. We only have about 70 people in our grade and seven sets of twins. That’s one of the first things I tell people,” Molly said.

“I think it’s awesome that all of us are together and have been for a long time,” Maddy said.

Molly will be headed to Indiana University of Pennsylvania for basketball, and Maddy is going to Youngstown State University. Both Howards are unsure of their majors.

EMMA AND ETHAN O’CONNELL

Both Emma and Ethan plan on staying local after graduation and will be attending YSU. Emma will major in political science, and Ethan plans on majoring in psychology and minoring in art.

“It’s crazy, but at the same time we’ve known each other since kindergarten so it’s become numb at this point. But when people hear about it, they’re amazed,” Emma said.

“It’s different because we’re not identical,” Ethan said about he and Emma. “It’s different for the identical twins, but it’s still cool though.”

NIKOLINA AND DIANA DROBNJAK

Nikolina and Diana are the other set of identical twins.

“I can’t explain what it’s like to be in this group. It’s always been weird because it makes up such a huge portion of our grade,” Nikolina said. “It’s nice to have other twins in our grade to relate to.”

Diana agreed having more people to relate to is a bonus.

“I never really thought much about it, honestly,” Diana said. “I at least had a lot of people to relate to in terms of twins.”

Both Drobnjak sisters will head to YSU. Nikolina said she will be a double-major in economics and math, and Diana said she’s undecided but is leaning toward business and STEM majors.

TARA AND COLLIN MULROONEY

Collin said he did not want to be in the article, but Tara said being in the group of seven twins was nice.

“It’s really cool because it’s not normal to have seven sets of twins, especially all in one grade. It was really nice that we got to grow up and graduate together,” she said.

Tara is headed to EGCC to see if college is right for her and see where it takes her from there.