Cinnaminson Triplets Each Earned 4.0 GPA At Rowan College

CINNAMINSON, NJ — A set of Cinnaminson triplets who set up a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament at Rowan College at Burlington County each graduated from the college with 4.0 grade point averages (GPA). Yes, each of them.

Christopher, Gregory and Nicholas Zacharko were also selected as co-valedictorians of the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF), according to a release from Rowan College at Burlington County.

But with different life paths threatening to break up the trio, the video game extravaganza, which took place pre-pandemic, may be among the last projects that brings them together for a while.

Christopher Zacharko, who competed in the first match in that tournament, has reached the end of his first semester at Rutgers University’s School of Environmental and Biological Sciences in New Brunswick. He’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology, and hopes to work for the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

Since his sophomore year of high school, he’s adhered to a yearly internal theme or mantra. Once he enrolled in Rowan College at Burlington County, he changed his mantra each semester.

“With each mantra, I would work within that frame of mind for the whole time period,” Christopher Zacharko said. “For the first semester of RCBC, it was ‘Fly or Die,’ since the first semester at a new school is critical in terms of a new GPA, but also first impressions and such. Once the COVID-19 pandemic began, the mantra switched to ‘Anytime, Anywhere,’ saying that I can earn fantastic marks no matter if I'm on-campus or off-campus, or the time when assignments and classes happen. But, the mantra I had for junior year of high school, the year I took and passed my first three AP tests and courses, has stuck with me to this day. It is my universal mantra, and I think it applies to a ton of students. It’s ‘Will you be lost by time, or be part of history? Will your story be told, or remain a mystery? Will they sing your song, telling all that you have done? Time to make your choice, only you can be the one!’”

Gregory Zacharko is off to Rowan University this fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He earned an associate’s degree in Computer Science from Rowan College at Burlington County, has had his eyes on a computer career since he got a Nintendo DS Lite for Christmas when he was seven years old.

“I fell in love with the hobby of video games, and it was at that moment (on Christmas) that I decided that I wanted to become a video game programmer/software engineer,” Gregory Zacharko said. “I want to provide people the same fun, enjoyment, entertainment, excitement and engaging and immersive experiences that I experience when playing games. I want my legacy in this world, my purpose in this world, to be known as someone who helped in creating games that make people happy, that bring people together as one community, that tell engaging and thoughtful stories that cannot be done in any other medium (à la movies, books, TV shows, etc.) but can only be done through the interactive, artistic medium of video games.”

Nicholas Zacharko will pursue a bachelor’s degree in Interactive Multimedia at The College of New Jersey. He also wants to pursue a career in the field of video games, but instead of programming, he would like to work as an artist on games by creating models, scenes, characters and more.

“I truly did have a good time at RCBC,” Nicholas Zacharko said. “I liked walking around campus, sitting outside and in the lounges. It was honestly a very good experience.”

The triplets’ shared love of video games led to the creation of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament on Rowan College at Burlington County’s Mount Laurel Campus.

Christopher Zacharko co-founded the college’s Smash Club and obtained NJSTARS II status, which will help fund his bachelor’s degree, according to the college.

The tournament attracted 40 participants, bringing together college students, faculty, mascot Barry and even President Dr. Michael A. Cioce. It also helped to propel the RCBC E-sports scene thereafter.

“I was the first match of the tournament versus a student who wasn't a part of the club but still a great player,” Christopher Zacharko said. “It felt like I had to prove that the club is successful to the administration of RCBC through that best of three set. At this point, I had only begun playing Ultimate for a couple of weeks, since I never had the opportunity before with no access to the game. I lost the first game of the set. I then changed my character, and came back to win the set 2-1. The crowd was amazing, and the club was so proud of me for completing the comeback. That was probably the best moment with the club, and I love this club.”

The brothers said they chose Rowan College at Burlington County over other schools because it was close to home, cost-effective and still offered a quality education.

“Going to RCBC is much cheaper than a four-year, but with no sacrifice to the quality of learning,” Christopher Zacharko said. “I would receive the same quality of education as I would for my first two years at a four-year school, but I would be able to take advantage of programs such as EOF, NJSTARS, the Statewide Transfer Program (earn an associate at community college and 4-year institutions must accept all credits), etc. These programs allowed me to go to RCBC without loans and will help me in the future at Rutgers.”

The brothers also formed lasting relationships while at Rowan College at Burlington County, even in a predominantly remote environment. In fact, on the last day of the semester, their friends surprised them by giving them the Smash Ultimate game.

“They all chipped in and bought it for us since we did not have it, and they wanted us to practice consistently, instead of only being able to play or practice while at RCBC,” Gregory Zacharko said. “They also gave us some of the proper controllers to use. We were so ecstatic! I was so happy to finally have friends that truly care about us as much as I care about them. Finally, a true friendship! And for them to do that was just incredible.”

They also said they hope to continue to play in the college’s Smash Club events for a long time, hoping it helps to spawn a bigger Smash Brothers scene in Burlington County and South Jersey as a whole.