GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Family and friends filled the Van Noord Arena at Calvin University Saturday to celebrate another round of college graduates.
One family didn’t have just one graduate: Quadruplet siblings walked across the stage together.
“It’s exciting,” said Maria Rodriguez, the mother of the siblings and a professor at Calvin. “We’re really excited about it because we never thought we’d see this day. When you get quadruplets, you don’t know what’s ahead of you.”
Their names are Naty, Misael, David and Elaine Vasquez.
“We did a lot of things together growing up, so we honestly got close that way,” said Misael Vasquez. “Going to college, we all kind of went our own ways with our different majors … just naturally happened, but we found our own friend groups here in college, but overall, we still have a lot of the same friends and the same interests.”
An undated photo of quadruplets Naty, Misael, David and Elaine Vasquez. The four siblings graduated from Calvin University on April 29, 2023. (Courtesy Misael Ricardo Martinez Vasquez) 
An undated photo of quadruplets Naty, Misael, David and Elaine Vasquez. The four siblings graduated from Calvin University on April 29, 2023. (Courtesy Misael Ricardo Martinez Vasquez) 
An undated photo of quadruplets Naty, Misael, David and Elaine Vasquez. The four siblings graduated from Calvin University on April 29, 2023. (Courtesy Misael Ricardo Martinez Vasquez)
Two of the siblings had their mom as a professor.
“So Naty and I have had my mom,” said David Vasquez. “It was good. I think we try to keep that out of our mind when we’re in the class, but she’s a good teacher.”
This isn’t the first time the siblings all graduated together. Before becoming Knights, they were Squires at Calvin Christian High School.
“It feels just wonderful, honestly,” said Elaine Vasquez. “We have all come a long way. It has been really tough sometimes, but we have all pushed through and got to where we are now.”
Even though they share many similarities, they all majored in different areas. Naty Vasquez double-majored in elementary education & Spanish, Misael Vasquez studied recreational therapy and psychology, David Vasquez went into data analytics and biology, and Elaine Vasquez studied social work along with accounting and business.
Saturday’s graduating class was the first class to begin and end their journey under the institution’s new name, which changed from Calvin College to Calvin University in 2019.
— Correction: A previous version of this article misstated what David Vasquez studied. We regret the error, which has been fixed.
