Male triplets make history in SCSU nursing program

PAm mCLOUGHLIN

New Haven Register, Conn.

Lynn and John Horobin of Wallingford will be triple-proud at the graduation of Southern Connecticut State University’s nursing class of 2023.

The couple’s triplets are juniors in the program — three men going into a fi eld still dominated by women.

“We work well together,” Andrew Horobin, the oldest of the three, said. “We could have and would have gone our separate ways,” but wound up going into nursing for many of the same reasons.

Andrew was born fi rst, Luke came a minute later and Zach a minute after that. Now they’re 20 years old and have grown into handsome, strapping men. Andrew stands 6 feet, 4 inches; Luke is 6 feet, 3 inches; and Zach is 6 feet, 2 inches tall with lighter hair and doesn’t look much like his brothers.

And as is usually the case, the apples don’t fall far from the trees.

Their father, John Horobin, is a 6-foot, 6-inch Wallingford

Male triplets make history

in SCSU nursing program

fi refi ghter and longtime fi refi ghter and longtime paramedic, while their paramedic, while their mother, Lynn Horobin, is a dental hygienist. Both are proud of their three children, but neither is surprised by their career choices.

“We are a health care family,” Lynn Horobin said. “The boys are caregiver kind of kids. They’re good all-around kids.”

They’re “modeling their father,” she said, as two of the men — Andrew and Luke — want to become career fi refi ghters and paramedics like him after graduating from nursing school. The two already are volunteer fi refi ghters and volunteer EMTs. The two say nursing can be the part-time job they’ll likely need as a fi refi ghter and/or the backup if they were to get injured or burnt out.

John Horobin was all for that reasoning.

“It’s a great job to have. It’s a whole another family to be part of,” John Horobin said of the fi re service. “I always taught them if you want a good, blue-collar job, that’s it right there.”

He said being nurses will give Andrew and Luke a step up since 75% of calls are medical. Zach of calls are medical. Zach is considering a nursing is considering a nursing career that involves pediatrics or maternity, as he likes children.

“The triplets” — as they are often referred to in the community and at school — live at home in Wallingford, Connecticut, have most of their classes together, study with each other and hang out generally with the same broad group of friends.

They use the word “we” a lot, but emphasize, as does their mother, that they have distinct personalities, diff erent routines and are very much individuals.

Lynn Horobin said she and her husband stressed individuality in raising their sons, never lumping them together to be called “the triplets,” although she sometimes referred to them as “the boys.”

“We all think in a diff erent way,” Zach said.

All three are hard working and determined, they and their parents said. The brothers defend and protect one another.

“We do a lot of things together. We’re very close,” Andrew Horobin said.

He said “we” became He said “we” became interested in the health interested in the health care/helping fi elds just care/helping fi elds just by “living it” at home. by “living it” at home. Their grandfather Their grandfather was a fi refi ghter so was a fi refi ghter so the brothers grew up the brothers grew up listening to nonstop talk listening to nonstop talk about “the calls.” about “the calls.”

In the spirit of John In the spirit of John Horobin’s guidance, Horobin’s guidance, Andrew Horobin said Andrew Horobin said there are many practical there are many practical factors that rang factors that rang positive about going positive about going into nursing: nurses into nursing: nurses are always needed, the are always needed, the fi eld pays well, nurses fi eld pays well, nurses can choose to work in diff erent settings, and they can keep various hours.

“We wanted a degree that was meaningful, something very usable to help us in the future,” Andrew said.

All three were accepted directly from high school into the SCSU nursing program, a special distinction that requires high academic grades. The brothers all complete the Certifi ed Nursing Assistant program at Lyman Hall High School.

At SCSU, the three juniors all are on the dean’s list.

Maria D. Krol, associate professor and director for SCSU’s Bachelor of Science Nursing Program, said about 88% of nursing students are women. In 1970, only 2.9% of nurses were men, she said.

Gender diversity in the nursing fi eld is as important as racial diversity, for the same reasons, Krol said.

“The presence of more males as nurses ensures the males (patients) feel represented. They may be more likely to share more private information or less likely to be opposed to certain procedures like a catheter insertion if it’s done by a male nurse,” she said. “Having a diverse workforce is benefi cial to the population in general. It is a diff erent perspective and we all benefi t from diversity.”

Krol believes the Horobin men are the fi rst triplets to attend SCSU’s nursing school, although there have been several sets of female twins. There are 203 juniors and seniors in the nursing program and 29 of them are male students. The Horobin triplets are among 16 men in the class of 2023.

While the brothers say they get along great, it doesn’t mean they “don’t mess” with each other, as young men do. While there is some competitive spirit, it’s always overridden by each wanting to see the others’ success.

Zach Horobin said it was while doing his CNA clinical work at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare and Masonicare that he decided nursing would be a “rewarding” career.

As for being a triplet, Zach said, “It’s great, it’s the little things.”

He said “you’re never alone,” even during the height of the coronavirus pandemic when many people may have felt isolated. Zach said the nursing material is diffi cult so it’s great to study together (they also study with other friends) and have the benefi t of a brother who can explain a diffi cult concept in a way that makes sense.

“Everything is pretty

good about it,” Zach said of being a triplet. He said people might wonder whether it’s more diffi cult to share with two siblings the same age, “but you can’t have everything yourself anyway.” Luke said he was torn between going for fi refi ghter, paramedic and nursing, so he decided to get his nursing degree fi rst because he didn’t think he’d get back to school once in the swing of a fi refi ghter/paramedic career. Next, he will pursue the fi refi ghting/ paramedic careers. Luke said he thought that if there a two candidates for a job, having that nursing degree would be an advantage. “A lot of fi refi ghters I know have two jobs,” Luke said. “It’s (nursing) a good fallback in case you get hurt on the job.” He also appreciates being a triplet. “It’s never a dull moment,” Luke said. “You always have two buddies with you.” Luke said of Andrew, “He sometimes levels me out and complements me.” Andrew said he thinks having more than one profession is a good move. “If I burn out on one thing, I can do another,” Andrew said. “For me, I want to help people. I’ve always looked up to people who help each other.” nurses: the heart of health care THE BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION EAGLE