Collins quintuplets graduate from Naperville high school

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- The Collins siblings from Naperville - Illinois' first set of quintuplets -- graduated from Neuqua Valley High School Sunday morning.

Pat, Grace, Aidan, Elizabeth and Clare made headlines when they were born Sept. 9, 1996. They broke a world gestation record of 34 weeks when they were born.

Eighteen years later, the siblings' mother said she cannot believe how fast the time went by.

"Just completely overwhelmed," said mom Bridget Collins. "I think I've been overwhelmed for 18 years."

Four of the five kids are going to College of DuPage in the fall. Clare hopes to pursue her love of singing. Betsy plans to become a teacher. Aidan wants to follow in his father's footsteps of being a firefighter and Pat is still trying to decide on a career path. Grace, who wants to study broadcast journalism, plans to attend Illinois State University.

The Collins siblings, who also have a 21-year-old sibling, said growing up as quintuplets was cool but no big deal as each tries to carve out his or her identity

"We are all pretty close, but we all keep our distance, but as soon as Grace goes away to college, it's going to seem pretty empty," said Clare Collins.

The milestone of a high school graduation is just another day for the quints, but for their parents, it's a passage of time that went so fast.

"I'm speechless, I wish I could say something enlightening, but I'm still just completely overwhelmed, I've been overwhelmed for 18 years," mom said.