Band of Brothers

For identical twins Zarek and Tymon Nieduzak of Acton, Massachusetts, graduating from UMass Lowell at the same time is double the fun and excitement. The two earned their bachelor’s degrees from UML last year in plastics engineering and mechanical engineering, respectively, and will be receiving their master’s degrees in the same subjects at Commencement.

“It feels really good to graduate together,” says Zarek. “We pushed each other very hard throughout our undergraduate and graduate careers, and it feels great to celebrate our accomplishments together.”

“Our parents are very proud of us, especially because we were both awarded the Dean’s Medal last year,” says Tymon.

So, what was it like being River Hawks?

“It has been a great experience,” says Zarek. “Tymon and I were roommates the entire time and joined the same fraternity, Sigma Phi Omicron, so we constantly did stuff together and helped make sure that we were always trying our best and achieving our goals.”

“We played intramural soccer together most of the semesters it was offered and had a lot of fun doing that,” says Tymon. “We also spent a lot of time doing events and activities with our fraternity brothers.”

However, after all their years of being on parallel tracks, the brothers’ paths are about to diverge. After graduation, Zarek plans to move to New Jersey to be trained for a job in polymer resin technical sales, while Tymon will pursue a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics at Columbia University.

Their oldest brother, Zenon, earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from UMass Lowell in 2020 and is currently taking graduate courses on bioprocessing at UML. 

“We all went to UMass Lowell for the same reasons – world-class engineering programs and plenty of merit-based scholarships that allowed us to pay for college without any loans or debt, including undergraduate immersive scholars research and co-op opportunities,” says Tymon. “They gave us considerable industry experience and knowledge while getting paid.”

Tymon got extensive research experience working with Assoc. Prof. Juan Pablo Trelles as an immersive scholar, and Zarek participated in the professional co-op program, working as a CAD designer at Entegris in Billerica, Massachusetts.