Pictured from left are Carson Conheeny and sister Elise Conheeny with their childhood neighbors, Logan Lucenti and brother Calvin Lucenti, while on High Point University’s campus.
High Point University’s prestigious reputation not only attracts students from all over the country, but it often attracts multiple students from the same families and neighborhoods.
Rhode Island natives Logan and Calvin Lucenti, sister and brother, both chose to attend HPU and were well aware of the university’s notoriety growing up in the Northeast. So were their childhood friends and neighbors, Elise and Carson Conheeny, also sister and brother.
Nearly 700 miles from home, the four students from Portsmouth found their own ways to HPU’s campus. But they all chose HPU as the best university for them and thrived here.
Growing up, the siblings lived across the street from each other. Calvin and Carson were best friends and high school basketball teammates.
When public places in their hometown closed during the coronavirus pandemic, their parents came up with a rule to help keep them safe. They told Calvin and Carson and their older sisters, Logan and Elise, that they could hang out together as long as they stayed in their neighborhood.
The four teenagers ended up playing outside every day. They jumped on the Lucenti’s in-ground trampoline and spent hours shooting hoops on the Conheeny’s basketball goal.
“It was like back and forth every single day,” Logan said. “We were always together.”
Considering how close the two families are, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Logan, Elise, Calvin and Carson attended High Point University together.
Logan, the oldest of the group, graduated in May from HPU with a marketing degree. Elise is a junior majoring in sports management, while Carson and Calvin are sophomores.
“It’s really nice having somebody you can be yourself around,” Elise said about attending HPU with her brother, who’s 13 months younger than her. “And it’s like a piece of home.”
Their Different Paths to HPU
Logan was the first of the four to enroll at HPU. She considered a variety of schools, but then her high school guidance counselor recommended HPU and suggested she take a campus tour.
Calvin, who’s two years younger than Logan, joined his sister when she visited HPU for the first time.
Elise planned to stay closer to home for college. She decided to keep an open mind, though, and she was sold on attending HPU after Logan showed her around campus during a Presidential Scholarship Weekend.
Calvin and Carson’s journey to HPU was a little more complicated.
When it was Calvin’s time to make his college decision, he initially didn’t want to go to the same school as his big sister. He was looking to play college basketball, but when he decided during his senior year of high school that his playing days were over, he thought some more about HPU.
“I really like how connected they are with you, and you have easy access to tutors if you’re struggling in class,” Calvin said. “The small classroom sizes, that really helps me a lot. I’ve always liked small classroom sizes, and that’s what originally brought me here as well.”
Carson, meanwhile, enrolled at another university as a freshman to play college football. He quickly discovered it wasn’t the right fit for him, and he told Calvin that he needed his help to convince Carson’s parents that they should let him go to HPU.
“I thought to myself, ‘My best friends are coming here. My sister goes here. All right. I would love to come here,’” Carson said.
Closer Than Ever
All four neighbors grew closer from their time hanging out together at HPU. They often ran into each other on campus, and when fall break arrived during the 2023-24 academic year, they traveled back home to Portsmouth together.
They loved having their siblings with them at college. Logan and Calvin shared a car and often went shopping at Target. At the same time, Elise and Carson have spent hours studying together for their final exams.
“In high school, his friends were also my friends, and it was hard to balance that,” Elise said. “But I feel like in college it’s a completely different story, and we’re closer than we’ve ever been for sure.”