A pair of Brown University-bound Long Island twins did what no other siblings ever have in the history of prestigious Chaminade High School — finish their academic tenure as both valedictorian and salutatorian.
Recent grad John Gomes, 18, earned a cumulative 99.42 over four years and edged out his younger-by-a-minute brother Joseph Gomes who put together a hard-fought 99.29.
“There have been a couple of times where we used to boast about who does better in calculus, who does better in physics,” John Gomes told The Post.
“Ultimately, our end goal is not to just boast, but ultimately help whoever is kind of behind.”
Joseph Gomes beat his older brother as a 12th grader, earning a 99.67 over his twin’s 98.83 for the year, John Gomes said.
“A lot of seniors get senior-itis and slack off and don’t focus as much,” John said, “but one exception to that was my brother. It was actually his highest average out of his four years.”
The 18-year-olds have been inseparable ever since they were little boys, sharing a love for tennis, Nintendo, board games, and their “big birthday parties” while growing up in Hewlett.
“We were always encouraged to stay together,” Joseph Gomes said. “We pretty much spent almost every day together.”
They chose to become Chaminade Flyers to challenge themselves at the intense Mineola institution, and it didn’t take long for their peers to notice.
“A few kids used to come to me freshman year and like ask, ‘how is your average so high, what do you do?’” Joseph Gomes said.
“I’m taking notes in class, and then students are like, ‘I wasn’t paying attention, could I please have your notes?’” John added. “I’m like, fine, but you’ve got to do the actual problems yourself.”
The boys’ work ethic quickly cemented them as role models for the entire school, principal Robert Paul said.
“They’ve also taken the hardest classes we offer here,” he said.
“There are other pathways that you could take where maybe the class is not as difficult, and you can get better grades and probably not have to work as hard … we don’t weigh our averages.”
John and Joseph often overlapped, taking the same advanced placement classes and being part of extracurriculars like the school’s social studies, business, and culinary clubs, in addition to a school prayer group.
It was always about unity, not rivalry.
“Whether it’s elementary school, middle school, or here at Chaminade, I don’t think we were ever too competitive about those serious things,” said Joseph Gomes.
Continuing together in their studies for the next four or more years wasn’t a set plan for the Gomeses, but instead a little bit of kismet.
“We both applied to similar schools, but at the end of the day, where we wanted to go, it wasn’t dependent on going with each other,” Joseph Gomes said, adding that their dad also graduated from Brown.
“He’s actually not that worried about us being at Brown, because he already knows how much work and effort and how well we did here,” John Gomes added.
John Gomes is looking to pursue a career in government or law, while Joseph Gomes has his sights on environmental engineering.
The duo gave graduation speeches centered on work ethic to their peers on Sunday, where they also addressed brotherhood and overwhelming feelings of gratitude for their past, present — and futures.
“I am really going to enjoy being with Joseph for the next four years,” John Gomes said.
“I interact with him every single day, and so it would have been a little bit off or hard to get used to if I didn’t see him at least once a week.”
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