COLUMBUS, Ohio — When it comes to upholding tradition and pride
in a particular school, the Whalen family of suburban New Albany takes a back
seat to no one.
The Whalens stand alongside families in which it's not unusual
for three and even four generations of students to have attended the same
Catholic high school in the Diocese of Columbus.
But come June 1, the family will rise to the top of the class
when the 33rd and 34th family members graduate from St. Francis DeSales High
School — and the 35th, 36th and 37th, too.
Gina Whalen gave birth to Ben, Mary Kate, Grace, Emma and Alex in
2000. They will be the first set of five siblings to graduate from DeSales
since its 1960 founding. They are believed to be the first quints to graduate
from any of the diocese's current 11 high schools.
Their graduation occurs a little more than a month after their
19th birthday — April 22 —also the 24th wedding anniversary of their parents
and the 48th birthday of their father, Mike Whalen.
The quints have a younger sister, Lindsey, who turned 10 in early
February.
Gina said she always has thought of the five as individuals
rather than a unit, never doing things such as dressing them alike — and it's
readily apparent. Without being told they are quintuplets, someone might never
realize it because each one has distinctive features.
The five also have followed their own paths in school, sharing
some interests but being involved separately in many others.
"We get comments from people all the time about it, but for
us, being quints is nothing out of the ordinary because we see each other every
day," Ben said.
"When it's all you've known, you can't imagine anything
else," Mary Kate added.
"It's interesting to see how other families work, how older
and younger siblings get along," she told The
Catholic Times, Columbus' diocesan newspaper. "We have some of
that, too, with Lindsey. We make sure she has her own special times, and she
does have five brothers and sisters to turn to and to watch out for her."
"We've always been close. My siblings are my four best
friends," Ben said, prompting a group "awww" from his siblings.
"We know each other the most."
"But we all have our own individual friends and groups of
friends, and they become friends with each other," Emma said. "So, we
get a chance to know a lot more people because there's so many of us."
One place where all five have been regularly found together is at
DeSales soccer matches, with the two brothers as players and the three sisters
as cheerleaders. Both brothers also belong to the school's fishing club. Alex
is a hockey player and Spanish Club member, and Ben plays volleyball and
belongs to the business, engineering and math clubs.
Emma, Grace and Mary Kate all belong to the Math Club, the Ronald
McDonald House Charity Baking Club and Go Red for Women, which works to build
awareness of heart disease and stroke and to encourage healthful lifestyle
choices. The sisters also are involved in clubs individually.
The family attends the Church of the Resurrection in New Albany,
where all three sisters have taught in the parish religious education program.
All the siblings have taken part in retreat weekends and service projects.
"The importance of serving others has been a tradition in
our family for generations," Gina said. The quintuplets' late
great-grandfather, Lawrence "Wheaties" Whalen, provided an example of
service by his longtime work with the Charity Newsies, an organization that
provides clothing to schoolchildren from low-income families.
Gina recalled how many families at their previous parish, St.
Pius X Church in Reynoldsburg, helped when the quintuplets were born.
"We couldn't have survived those early days without
them," she said. "We've always been aware of what a blessing it is to
give back to people and we've encouraged our children to do the same."
All of the quints anticipate attending college somewhere in Ohio
in the fall. Ben wants to major in engineering or architecture, while Alex is
interested in accounting or criminology. The girls are considering careers in
education.
"One big reason I want to be a teacher is the example many
of the teachers at DeSales have set," Mary Kate said. "They've shown
me how much fun teaching could be and made it my dream job. The ultimate would
be to come back to DeSales and teach."
DeSales has deep roots in the Whalen family. Mike, one of his
sisters and their parents are DeSales graduates, as are Gina and all six of her
siblings.
Principal Daniel Garrick described the Whalen children as having
"tremendous school spirit."
"Not only have they shared their talents with the soccer,
hockey and cheer teams, each of them has also found their own unique
niche," Garrick said. "It has been a blessing to have them in our
school over the past four years, and their legacy will leave a lasting
impression on our special community."
Puet writes for The Catholic Times, newspaper of the
Diocese of Columbus.