Identical twin brothers at St. Aloysius Catholic School in Pottstown are among 52 students recently named as 2025 Neumann Scholars by the Connelly Foundation. This prestigious and highly competitive recognition is awarded to eighth grade students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Brothers Atticus and Joaquin Luna are both winners, each receiving a full four-year tuition scholarship to an archdiocesan high school of their choice.
A third eighth grade student from St. Aloysius School also received this award, Eisenhower (Howie) Au. Having three winners in one year marks a significant accomplishment for the 350-student school, which has now celebrated 23 Neumann Scholars since the program’s inception.
Principal Anthony Palmieri previously served as the school’s third grade teacher and had all three Neumann Scholars in his classroom.
“All three boys,” he said, “were very diligent workers in third grade. They could all think outside the box and come to an answer in a very unique way.”
The Luna brothers are two of four siblings of parents Gabriel, a geologist, and Megan, a nurse, who met as students at the University of Notre Dame. The family are parishioners of St. Aloysius Parish, and all four children attended the parish school.
Remarkably, the four siblings, who are of Mexican-Caucasian decent, all share the distinction of having been named Neumann Scholars.
The oldest, Oscar, is a graduate of Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford, and is currently a freshman nursing student at Villanova University.
The second oldest sibling is a sister, Rory, who is currently a junior at Pope John Paul II, where she runs on the cross-country and track teams and was recently inducted into the National Honor Society.
Atticus and Joaquin plan to follow their brother and sister’s footsteps and also attend Pope John Paul II next school year.
“We’re incredibly proud of all four of the kids,” said Megan Luna, “and most recently Atticus and Joaquin for the work that they put in and their dedication to cultivating God’s gift.”.
She credits the family’s love of reading for helping her children acquire “a sense of inquisitiveness,” which “helps them to stay motivated in their studies.”
Atticus and Joaquin’s favorite books, according to their mother, include both nonfiction and historical fiction as well as the popular “Lord of the Rings” book series by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The twin brothers are both active in parish activities, serving as altar servers at the church and playing basketball and running cross-country track on their school’s teams.
Though the identical twins are both over six feet tall, the brothers have a one-inch height difference: Joaquin is 6 foot, 4 inches tall, and brother Atticus is 6 foot, 5.
In addition to parish activities, the brothers started studying piano in the first grade and still take lessons once a week, as their two older siblings did.
At home, the brothers enjoy spending time outdoors in the woods surrounding their home, playing games and climbing trees, says their mother.
The Neumann Scholarship was established in 1995 by the local philanthropic organization, the Connelly Foundation. Each year it grants $1.9 million in scholarships to eighth grade students across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who meet rigorous academic and standardized testing criteria.
The full list of 2025 Neumann Scholars appears below.
Bucks County
Merryn Andrusiewicz, St. Andrew Catholic School, Newtown
Jacqueline Annulis, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School, Doylestown
Payton Bagley, St. Jude School, Chalfont
Matthew Lenker, St. Charles Borromeo School, Bensalem
Luke Loeffler, Holy Trinity School, Morrisville
Giulianna Masucci, Our Lady of Good Counsel School, Southampton
Jacob Parvin, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School, Doylestown
Madelyn Pepper, Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School, Warminster
Nahum Wolde Yohannes, Holy Trinity School, Morrisville
Chase Wolstenholme, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School, Doylestown
Grace Van Hoof, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School, Doylestown
Olivia Zettlemoyer, Holy Family Regional Catholic School, Levittown
Chester County
Jack Burrell, SS. Peter and Paul School, West Chester
Sophia Grumbine, SS. Peter and Paul School, West Chester
Alexandra Heil, St. Agnes School, West Chester
Elizabeth Lincoln, Holy Family School, Phoenixville
Charlotte Maio, St. Agnes School, West Chester
Royce Mathew, St. Elizabeth Parish School, Chester Springs
Tyler Parthemore, St. Norbert School, Paoli
Delaware County
Timothy Baillie, St. Pius X School, Broomall
Declan Despres, SS. Colman-John Neumann School, Bryn Mawr
Zachary Fellman, St. Pius X School. Broomall
Colin Fitzpatrick, St. Anastasia School, Newtown Square
Jenna Scorsone, St. Pius X School, Broomall
Kiera Williamson, St. Anastasia School, Newtown Sqaure
Thomas Abraham, SS. Colman-John Neumann School, Bryn Mawr
Montgomery County
Zander Arcilla, Corpus Christi Catholic School, Lansdale
Eisenhower Au, St. Aloysius Parish School, Pottstown
Jilliann Ciccitto, St. Teresa of Calcutta School, Limerick
Peter Conville, St. Luke Catholic School, Glenside
Thomas FitzGerald, St. Margaret School, Narberth
Charlie Ford, Visitation B.V.M. School, Trooper
Michael Hurst, Presentation B.V.M. School
Atticus Luna, St. Aloysius Parish School, Pottstown
Joaquin Luna, St. Aloysius Parish School, Pottstown
David Memar, St. Margaret School, Narberth
Aidan Miller, Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Catholic School, North Wales
Benjamin Nazarian, St. Albert the Great Catholic School, Huntingdon Valley
Khloe Rivers, Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Catholic School, North Wales
Martin Rueda, St. Genevieve School, Flourtown
Gabriela Solimeo, Corpus Christi Catholic School, Lansdale
Julia Terkhorn, Corpus Christi Catholic School, Lansdale
Grace Womelsdorf, Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School, Maple Glen
Philadelphia
Michael Eckert, St. Monica School
Brian Heim, St. Cecilia School
Amelia Palestini, St. Cecilia School
Cara Plover, Our Mother of Consolation School
Tommy Quach, St. Martin of Tours Catholic School
Shannon Shahzad, St. Matthew School
Kathleen Tang, Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic School
Nolan Tigreros, St. Katherine of Siena Catholic School
Kelvin Wang, St. Jerome School
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