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August 7, 2001 — Some twins spend a lifetime trying to distinguish
themselves from one another. Others embrace the unusual relationship.
For Erika Heller and brother Ryan, 2001 graduates of Farmingdale
High School, the choice was clear. Together they will attend
the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville,
where both will major in physical education. Erika will play
on the women’s basketball team; Ryan will play football
and basketball.
Erika and Ryan never set out to attend the same college.
In fact, Erika says they had every intention of "going their
separate ways," after high school. But as fate would have
it, both were attracted to C.W. Post’s athletic program. Now
they are looking forward to sharing the campus. "It will be
good," Erika says. "We'll be able to help each other out."
The Heller twins aren’t the only siblings to attend
C.W. Post. This year’s freshman class includes 15 students
who have received sibling scholarships, which are available
to any student whose brother or sister is a C.W. Post alumnus
or current student. Recipients range from a 27-year-old woman
from Queens whose brother earned a master’s from the
university to a 17-year-old Levittown resident who says he’s
hoping to avoid taking classes with his sophomore brother.
"In high school we had mostly the same teachers,"
says Daniel Hecht, who will major in computer science. "They
always called me by my brother’s name — David."
Daniel is hoping that in college things will be different.
"As long as we’re not in the same classes at C.W.
Post," he says, "things should be okay."
The Sibling Scholarship was instituted in the fall of 2000
in response to numerous inquiries from the brothers and sisters
of students and alumni. The $3,000 annual award is available
for incoming freshmen and transfer students. Freshmen can
renew it for four years; transfers can renew it for three
years — as long as they maintain a B average and full-time
status.
"There has been a history here at C.W. Post over the
years of brothers and sisters attending," says Joanne
Graziano, director of the Office of Financial Assistance.
"There was always that question: ‘Do you have anything
special for us?’ This scholarship is meant to address
that need."
For some incoming freshmen, the family connection —
and the scholarship — played a major role in their decision
to attend the C.W. Post Campus. Huntington Station resident
Josephine Bartolotta says that she chose C.W. Post largely
because of the scholarship and the recommendations of her
brother Michael, a 1989 graduate, and her sister Maria, a
1990 graduate. She will be joined at C.W. Post this fall by
her cousin, Joanna Lobrutto, a Ronkonkoma resident. "My
older sister, Anna, is a graduate of C.W. Post," says
Lobrutto. "She received an excellent education and she
really loved it. And the campus is beautiful."
If you would like additional information about these families
or have any questions, please call the C.W. Post Office of
Public Relations at (516) 299-2333.
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