North Carolina A&T Alumni in the News

Whoa Baby! Aggie Couple Celebrates Birth of Quadruplets in 2023

December 20, 2023 / No Comments

According to Insider.com, the odds of a mother conceiving quadruplets naturally are just 1 in 700,000 pregnancies. Aggie couple Gerald Harper ‘89 and Dayna Harper ‘12 defeated those odds with the birth of quadruplets Grant, Gavin, Sydney, and Bailey on March 11, 2023.

Gerald and Dayna’s Aggie love story began with love at first sight. The couple met in 2012 in downtown Greensboro and have been inseparable since their first date. The pair share a love for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University through service to the Raleigh-Wake Alumni Chapter, with Gerald having served as chapter president and Dayna as corresponding secretary. The couple knew they always wanted to expand their family to create an Aggie legacy for the future.

“My husband (Gerald) and I tried for years to have children, and after the loss of our child in April 2022, we relied on the power of prayer to get us through,” said Dayna. “In the same year, one of Gerald’s closest friends, a Cooper Hall roommate and pastor, Shawn Steel ’89, prayed for us and he kept saying we were going to have twins,” said Dayna.

“In September 2022, we found out we were pregnant again, and at the prenatal check-up, we discovered we were pregnant with quadruplets.”

“The doctor was in shock and walked out of the room saying, ‘Wait a minute,’ and came back with another physician to confirm we were definitely pregnant with quadruplets,” said Gerald. When we left the doctor’s office, we were in so much shock that the car ride home was quiet and all I could think about was wanting a donut.”

The quadruplets are nicknamed on social media “The Four HARPbeats” and were born close to full term at 30 weeks. The quadruplets gained instant popularity on the family’s TikTok account, @a_day_n_my_life, with 2.5 million views on the “How It Started vs. How It’s Going,” video and 25,000 views on the “HARPbeat Happenings.”

The Harper family has received tremendous support and experienced random acts of kindness from their church, Watts Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., WRAL-TV and Kenly Area Ministries (KAM).

“We are grateful to have an amazing support system of family, friends, and fraternity and sorority members to help with raising our children,” said Dayna.

“Our family has been blessed with a nanny who we now call ‘The Baby Whisperer,’ who is also a mother of multiples. She has been really instrumental in keeping our quads on a schedule and they absolutely love her,” said Gerald. “Her support has allowed us to return to work with peace of mind knowing our children are in good hands.”

The Four HARPbeats made their debut during the Greatest Homecoming on Earth on Nov. 3, and shared in the joy of Aggie Pride with their parents.

The Harper family is diligently working on preparing for the future of their quadruplets’ higher education. The family has started college funds for all four children and hopes to see their children one day become N.C. A&T Aggies.

The N.C. A&T Office of Alumni Relations would like to gather information on Aggie twins, triplets, and/or quadruplets, who are attending A&T or graduated from the university. Please email contact information and photos to alumni@ncat.edu.

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