Freedom to Thrive

Currently, both have the title of portfolio manager, but their roles are very different. Curtis oversees the management of HSBC’s interest rate risk, watching over how changes in interest rates affect the bank’s overall earnings and capital. McCabe analyzes the financial performance of middle-market companies for Eastern Bank, structuring and monitoring their credit to align with the bank’s standards and reinforce sound, responsible lending.

Both graduated summa cum laude in economics and mathematics, and say their early career opportunities came from connections forged at HWS and an education made possible by a pivotal decision.

Until the spring of their senior year in East Aurora (N.Y.) High School, the twins were adamant about charting different courses. They believed college was meant to be a fresh start, their chance to live separate lives. But at the encouragement of their older brother, Nicholas Tarantino ’08, they both added HWS to their application lists.

Their resolve to separate changed when HWS offered each of them a William and Diane Green P’83, P’87 Endowed Scholarship and a generous financial aid package. The Green scholarship has supported students from the Buffalo-Niagara Region since 2007. It was an opportunity they couldn’t refuse, a decision that not only kept them together but cleared a path to their future success by unlocking a full-college experience.

“Without those scholarships, we undoubtedly would have had to work a second job to pay for college,” McCabe explains. “Instead, we were given the freedom to play for the soccer and basketball teams, travel abroad, nurture lifelong friendships and focus on our education.”

That freedom allowed them to thrive. On campus, McCabe and Curtis bonded with William Smith soccer teammates who became lifelong friends, sharing memories of Kate Redmond’s thrilling overtime goal against Amherst that advanced the team to the NCAA semifinals, as well as the camaraderie of a bus trip to the 2008 national championship in North Carolina. And both women also played in the 2011 Liberty League tournament championship match where Curtis scored the game-winning goal, securing the Heron’s fifth straight Liberty League tournament title.

Academically, the self-proclaimed “math nerds” pursued the economics degrees they knew would open doors for a wide set of career opportunities. But after tallying up their heavy load of math classes, they found a double major was in reach. In testament to the supportive HWS environment, Associate Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Computer Science David Belding taught an extra math class just so they could complete their math requirements on time.

The only stretch of the path where the twins parted ways was the move to their current banks — and even that's a difference of degrees more than direction. Both manage client portfolios. Both work in Boston. Both still call each other to talk through trades, decisions, market reads. The advantage of having a sibling who does exactly what you do, the sisters say, is having a sibling who actually understands the day.

Off campus, their horizons expanded further. Semesters abroad in Ecuador, Peru and the Galapagos Islands for Curtis and London, England for McCabe kindled a shared love of travel. “Since then, we’ve hit almost all the continents and coast-to-coast across America,” Curtis says. “One of the best perks of being a twin is that you have a lifelong travel partner.”

Their journey instilled deep gratitude not only for the alumni network and financial support that opened doors, but for the unexpected gift of a lasting bond with their scholarship benefactors, the Green family. “We knew the funding would be lifechanging, but the real surprise was the lifelong friendship that formed across generations,” McCabe says.

Now married and raising families of their own, McCabe and Curtis remain deeply connected to HWS, paying it forward with their time and resources. They frequently mentor students through the annual NYC Finance Experience program and offer career guidance.