Meg Eichas | Asst. Knights' Life Editor
The trifecta began with Joshua Joseph Kaplan, and for one year at Geneseo the eldest Kaplan existed without worry that any supplementary labels or explanations were needed to clarify his identity. Now, however, students refer to him as "the one that is a junior," or, "the one on the swim team."
An economics major, this Kaplan is from Grand Island, a small town near Buffalo. Kaplan is a member of the swim team, the finance club and the Student Athletic Advisory Council. He enjoys photography and the great outdoors, and can sometimes be found playing various pick-up games with his teammates.
Sounds like a pretty normal guy with a pretty normal life, but things began to get weird during his sophomore year.
"I think it was when I was applying to the School of Business. That was the first time I had an issue with the name thing," Kaplan said. "The other two Josh Kaplans are finance or business administration, or were at least taking business classes, because the department got very confused as to who was actually applying. Suddenly no one knew who I was."
He also began to have sightings of himself – well, sort of – at odd places on campus. "One time I was visiting a friend in his building, and I saw my name on a nametag on the door. I was like, ‘I definitely don't live here.' So that was pretty weird," he said.
"I think other people make a bigger deal about it than I do," he said. "Someone will be like, ‘Hey, did you know there's another Josh Kaplan? Do you know him? Are you friends? Is it weird?' And I'm just like, ‘Yeah, I'm aware.'"
The experience does not seem to have too much of an effect on this Kaplan's life. "There isn't really a best or worst part of it," Kaplan said. "The other two Josh Kaplans must be pretty cool guys, because I've never had any negative thoughts or images directed my way when people hear my name."
Tom Nugent | Asst. Copy Editor
"I'm the No. 1 Josh Kaplan," said sophomore Joshua Alex Kaplan as he joshed about his superiority over the other two Geneseo students that share his namesake. "I said it, I meant it and I'm here to represent it."
A Pittsford native, Kaplan is as optimistic and fun-loving as they come. He's an avid sports fan, especially of Buffalo-area teams, and maintains his optimism despite their oft-disappointing performances. "The Buffalo Bills will not mess up the draft this year and make it to the playoffs and the Buffalo Sabres are winning the Stanley cup," Kaplan said.
But Kaplan doesn't just watch sports – he actively participates in them as well. He played golf and bowled throughout his high school career; Geneseo doesn't offer competitive teams in either sports, but Kaplan said he plays golf in the summer and bowls when he gets the chance.
When it comes to schoolwork, Kaplan keeps it together. "I like to do well in school, but don't usually let the stress bring me down," he said.
A business administration major, Kaplan said that sometimes the School of Business confuses him with the other Josh Kaplans. "Occasionally, the business school and mail room will send out emails to the three of us asking who just turned this in," Kaplan said.
"One of the weirdest things is seeing their names on Facebook and realizing that it was them and not me," he said. Kaplan said he has met the other two Joshes and that they have exchanged exclaim over the seeming rarity of their situation.
Though he shares his name, Joshua Alex Kaplan is unmistakably unique. A stress-free attitude, love of sports and school-positive attitude make this Josh Kaplan one of a kind.
Rebecca Smarz | Staff Writer
For sophomore Josh Frederick Kaplan, sharing a name with two other Geneseo students at a small liberal arts college seemed a "crazy coincidence" at first. But now, he says being a part of the Josh Kaplan trifecta is "not a big deal."
An accounting major, Kaplan hails from Long Island and participates in the Geneseo Marketing Association. He plans to earn both a bachelor's and master's degree in accounting.
After college, Kaplan plans to sit for the Unified Certified Public Accountant Examination, travel, find a job, get his own place and then "go from there." Kaplan distinguishes himself from the other Joshes with his own distinct interests: he enjoys working with computers and playing football and baseball just for fun.
Each of the Josh Kaplan trio is a part of the School of Business, and this occasionally poses problems. Kaplan said that in his freshman year, he experienced an issue with a mix-up of paper work and that a business focus group once associated him with the wrong high school, but he noted that he has not encountered too many problems.
Kaplan said that the three met up once after discovering the coincidence; life went on as normal afterward.
Although the Josh Kaplan triple-repetition is a weird coincidence, it does not seem to faze Josh Frederick Kaplan.
"Joshua is a common name," he said quite frankly.