As twin sisters Jazmin and Jada King were completing their associate degrees at Jones College last spring, both wanted to transfer to the University of Mississippi. The Bay Springs natives’ desires have been fulfilled, thanks to multiple scholarships each was awarded to attend the university.
Both Kings received the Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholarship. Jazmin also received a Lyceum Scholarship, and Jada was awarded a Luckyday Residential Scholarship.
“I am honored and blessed to have received these two amazing scholarships,” said Jazmin King, a multidisciplinary studies major with an emphasis in biology, chemistry and neuroscience on the pre-med track. “The Lyceum Scholarship is very competitive. I am appreciative for my community college experience that helped me receive the additional transfer scholarship.”
An exercise science major also in the pre-med track, Jada King said after attending the university’s annual Mississippi Outstanding Scholarship and Talent, or MOST, conference and APEX Leadership Summit while in high school, she knew Ole Miss was where she wanted to be.
“I loved the personal feeling Ole Miss gave me,” she said. “That feeling with the addition of wonderful scholarships persuaded me to attend here.”
Jazmin King said her decision to attend the university began with conversations she had with Anna Heavener, the PTK transfer admissions counselor.
“Mrs. Heavener was so friendly,” she said. “She explained everything that Ole Miss had to offer. I also attended APEX and MOST, which made me love Ole Miss even more.”
Jazmin and Jada said their short-term goals include achieving a 4.0 GPA this semester, having a successful capstone project and getting a high score on the MCAT. Jazmin King also plans on finishing a series of books she started reading during the summer.
Long-term goals are to attend medical school and to become primary care physicians in Mississippi.
The twins’ parents are Mike King, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and a tax appraiser; and Carressia King, a high school English teacher and ACT testing supervisor. They have two older siblings: Jaimee Paige, a registered nurse in the UM School of Nursing; and Mike Wade, an employee of the U.S. Army in Hawaii. The King family is closely-knit.
“My parents definitely inspire me to show integrity and kindness to people,” Jazmin King said. “I learned from them about how to lead and serve others and how to keep the faith. My dad has always encouraged me to stay true to myself, to take time to enjoy myself and to be patient. My mom has always encouraged me to focus on my studies and to be a woman of morality.”
Both overcame health challenges in high school through perseverance and family support. Jada King tore her ACL and meniscus while playing three sports.
“I gained my strength back a year after surgery,” she said. “My family supported me during that journey by taking me to therapy three times a week and helping with exercises to gain my strength back.”
Jazmin King also had a health crisis involving prediabetes.
“I learned how to face an obstacle and stay mentally strong while my body wasn’t physically strong at the moment,” she said. “I am grateful for this experience.”
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the twins’ semester at Jones College.
“My sister and I never got the chance to participate in an actual graduation ceremony,” Jada King said. “I wish I could have experienced my first college graduation.”
Jazmin King said the pandemic denied her the experience of an in-person orientation at UM.
“I never got the chance to experience a real orientation since mine was virtual,” she said. “The transfer students in the Luckyday program are really nice and were my first friendships at Ole Miss.”
The sisters, who share an apartment off-campus, said they don’t regret not living in a residence hall.
“Having to adjust to someone else as a roommate was something neither one of us really wanted to do,” Jazmin King said.
“We know each other so well,” Jada King said. “It’s just twice as nice to have a shared history.”
