Alumna Jasmine Kingston considers herself an indecisive person. She toured 31 colleges as a high-schooler in her quest to find the right school. "I like to see my options," she said.
But she didn't deliberate long when it came to accepting her first job in New York City.
"I love Delaware, but I wanted something more fast-paced," she said. "When I'm here there is never something I can't find - there's always a new restaurant to find or a new museum. There are so many cultures - you hear so many different languages on the subway."
Now a New Yorker of almost two years, Jasmine works in public relations for Twist Marketing, which works on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to raise awareness about new drugs that are coming to the market.
She wasn't always planning to pursue public relations. As is true of many career starts, Jasmine said "I fell into it a little bit."
In college at Johns Hopkins - the college she eventually decided was the right fit, despite her visit on a cold and rainy day - she majored in psychology and brain sciences, with minors in entrepreneurship and management and French cultural studies. She focused on marketing and public relations as part of her entrepreneurship minor, so her current work isn't entirely uncharted territory.
When Jasmine went to a marketing professor for career advice, she connected her to a former Johns Hopkins student, who connected her to Twist Marketing. Her psychology training gave her enough background in science to make her a perfect fit for an open job at Twist.
|
|
 |
|
Jasmine as a sixth-grader at WMS
|
|
Following her WMS graduation in 2006, Jasmine attended the Tatnall School and transferred to Archmere Academy after her first year of high school. When she wasn't playing softball or earning her black belt in karate, Jasmine was most passionate about her French studies. She took AP French in high school, which later inspired her to study abroad in Paris as a college junior.
In fact, she arrived in Paris for her semester abroad just days following the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack. While some students delayed their arrival for the semester abroad, Jasmine stuck to her original schedule. She said she always felt safe, and fondly reflects on her semester in Paris as a memorable time to be immersed in French culture.
Jasmine traces her openness to new ideas and exploration - including her resolve to forge on with her plans to study in Paris - back to WMS.
"The approaches at WMS were very different from the ways many other people would approach solving a problem," she said. "Everything can be attributed back to something I've learned at WMS."
Jasmine still keeps in touch with some of her WMS teachers and often stops to think about what they would say about decisions she's made.
"The things I was interested in I was able to explore," she said. "The teachers fostered [my interests]."
When she was in fourth or fifth grade, Jasmine recalls discussing a novel she and her fellow students were reading in class.
"It stood out to me that we could have an intellectual discussion at that age," she said. "I was reading books so rapidly, I never thought to stop and ask questions before. It led me to realize that I should keep exploring."
Making has always been a cherished part of my life. It started when I was 6 years old and wandered into the basement to find my father at work on a home project. He showed me a pile of wood scraps and suggested that I make a birdhouse. 
The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.
