John F. Kennedy grads — and twins — both off to Virginia Tech

It was the one college that both of us actually applied to and we didn’t really know that we were applying to it together.”

Sarina Khan, Kennedy graduate

It’s not every day that a sibling follows an older brother or sister off the same college or university after high school. But for the Khan twins, recent graduates of John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, things are a little bit different.

Sarina and Sameer Khan, twins from Merrick, are both headed to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia this fall and despite what some may think — attending the same school was not planned.

On the heels of a busy schedule in high school, they both reflected on recent experiences in and out of the classroom, and spoke on how they both ultimately decided that VT would be the right school for them.

Sarina and Sameer both participated in Kennedy High’s Advanced Science Research program, a challenging 3-year course, in which students essentially become young scholars in a particular field of study.

Students dedicate themselves to researching a topic, writing a paper, and completing an extensive application for the Society for Science Talent Search Competition, sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Regeneron.

Sarina’s project was “The Impact of Psychological Stressors on Immigrants’ Well-Being,” and Sameer’s project was “The Impact of Covid-19 on the Frequency of Macrophages found in Atherosclerosis.”

Towards the end of the school year, Sameer participated in the Long Island Science Congress, a poster board format competition, where he presented his research. He received a Highest Honors award for his findings at the competition’s award ceremony on June 2.

At Virginia Tech, Sameer will be studying Robotics and Mechanical Engineering. “I did some research on it beforehand, and I was like — okay, it seems like a really good school for my major,” he said. “It just had a lot of internship opportunities, which I really value. I think that’s going to help me a lot.

Sarina plans to study architecture and civil engineering, and was researching schools where she could also obtain a Master’s in Architecture. Virigina Tech happened to offer just that.

“They have a five year Master’s program, and they also have courses that I can dive right into architectural engineering, and I thought that was probably the best suited for me,” she said. “It was the one college that both of us actually applied to and we didn’t really know that we were applying to it together.

“It’s kind of funny,” she added. “For us to both end up there, and now we’re going to be dorming in the same building. We’ll be close to each other, but in two entirely different fields.”

Sarina and Sameer also both received scholarships. “It just made sense economically, but also academically,” Sarina said. “The campus is really nice and when you go there, you kind of just feel the spirit of Virginia Tech. It is very much a diverse campus. It’s just really exciting, and the campus itself was really gorgeous, and it’s sectioned out in the best way possible.”

The Khans graduated from Kennedy on June 12, and just a couple days prior, Sarina was named Prom Queen at the school’s senior event. Earlier in the school year, she was also named Homecoming Queen.

“It was just really cool to be honored by the grade like that,” she said of the titles.

Heading off to college is a lot, but both Sarina and Sameer said they’re grateful for the foundation they received at home, and in school. “Sameer and I would like to thank all the teachers we had for the past four years at JFK, our parents and our younger twin brothers, Amaar and Ryaan,” Sarina said.