Chaminade twins make school history as valedictorian and salutatorian
John and Joseph Gomes, seniors at the all-boys Catholic high school, found out they were named valedictorian and salutatorian of the class of 2026 right after finishing their U.S. Government AP exam on Tuesday.
Two brothers at Chaminade High School in Mineola have made school history — becoming the first set of twins to earn the top two academic honors in the school’s 96 years.
John and Joseph Gomes, seniors at the all-boys Catholic high school, found out they were named valedictorian and salutatorian of the class of 2026 right after finishing their U.S. Government AP exam on Tuesday.
“The room was filled with our friends and classmates… that was a very crazy and emotional experience because everyone was yelling, screaming, chanting our names. It was really fun and I'm really grateful for that,” said John, who is one minute older than Joseph.John secured the top spot, but the difference between the brothers’ GPAs is almost microscopic.
“I calculated it this morning - 99.42 and Joseph got 99.29. So, we were off by 0.13 … that’s razor thin margins,” John said.
Despite that narrow gap, both brothers say their success was never about beating each other.
“I never felt like we were that crazy about, you know, who’s better,” Joseph said. “I don’t think we were too competitive about that. If anything, it was more motivating each other, and it just so happened this ended up being the case.”
Chaminade High School president Brother Thomas Cleary said the achievement embodies the school's spirit of excellence and academic rigor.
“Our job is to help these young men when they join us as freshmen, to become better than they thought they could be. And John and Joseph blew it out of the park- more than anything I have expected. But they've also been humble about it.” he said.
The twins' parents say they earned every bit of this accomplishment.
“Super excited... over the moon. Proud. It was just a really special moment when they came and told us,” said their mother, Barbara Gomes.
Their father, John Gomes, added, “We give them as much love and support as we could, and they ran with it. That's really the bottom line. ”
John and Joseph say that their support system - from home and from school - made all the difference.
"I'm just super grateful for the support network I have… the faculty here at Chaminade, our teachers, each other, our family," said Joseph.
While they share friends, hobbies and a passion for video games, the brothers are now preparing to take the next step together as well. The twins will both be going to Brown University in the fall. John will be studying international public affairs, and Joseph will study environmental engineering.
