{"id":2057,"date":"2013-04-26T19:05:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-26T19:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=2057"},"modified":"2013-04-26T19:05:14","modified_gmt":"2013-04-26T19:05:14","slug":"j-sette-twins-to-graduate-with-mother-during-may-4-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2013\/04\/26\/j-sette-twins-to-graduate-with-mother-during-may-4-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"J-Sette twins to graduate with mother during May 4 ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Charlotte,Tegra and Charlene Johnson will graduate together on May 4.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Special to the Flash<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, May 4th is a special day for every graduate at Jackson State University, but for Charlene and Charlotte Johnson and their mother, Tegra Johnson, it is an extraordinary day.<\/p>\n

\u201cGraduation means everything to me,\u201d said Charlene.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s especially special because I not only get to share this day with my best friend and sister, but also my mom. It\u2019ll always be a memorable day and I\u2019ll celebrate May 4 every year from now on.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, not only will twins Charlene and Charlotte, who are members of the Prancing J-Settes, receive their undergraduate degrees in health care administration, so will mom Tegra.<\/p>\n

\u201cWords cannot express how excited I am to be walking with my girls, it\u2019s a great feeling,\u201d said Tegra Johnson. \u201cIt just reminds me that anything is possible and walking with them will be a cherished moment we will share forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

The twins will be very comfortable sharing the stage with their mother especially since they have been sharing class and study time as well as having her support their dance performances throughout college.<\/p>\n

Mother and daughter Charlene recall what it was like being in class together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember walking into Dr. Ochai\u2019s class and I saw Charlene.\u00a0 I was floored.\u00a0 I was saying to myself it was bound to happen, but of course I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing, you know make a good impression in class. \u00a0The next semester I had Charlotte and the last semester I had them both. It was not as crazy as I thought I would be. It was kind of fun,\u201d said (Tegra) Johnson.<\/p>\n

Charlene said she remembers walking into class, sitting down in the seat in front of her mom and not noticing her at first.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a 5 p.m.\u00a0 Statistics of Healthcare class, and when I looked up and saw her, I said \u2018what are you doing here?\u2019 It was funny, but it\u2019s been fun; it\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Tegra) Johnson\u2019s journey to the graduation finish line has taken a while.\u00a0 In addition to Charlotte and Charlene,\u00a0 her son, Chris is a junior at Jackson State and daughter Chasidy is a sophomore at the University of Southern Mississippi. They are from Clinton, Miss.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy academic adventure was just that an adventure. I\u2019ve been attending Jackson State for so long I can\u2019t remember when I actually started. I had to take classes here and there because of my work schedule. I also had to sit out several times. I thought I would never get to this point but I finally made it with the guidance of the Lord. It was hard but my children served as my motivation and I hope I was \u00a0their motivation,\u201d the mother of four said.<\/p>\n

As is common, twins share a lot and have many things in common; such is the case for the young ladies, but they have differences. Charlene, who is the oldest by 30 minutes, and Charlotte just celebrated their 22nd birthday on March 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t like to be compared to each other. Growing up as twins has been a lot of fun, but when we reached 6th or 7th grade, that\u2019s when all the comparisons started. \u2018She\u2019s the nice twin or she\u2019s the mean twin. She looks or dances better etc.\u201d said Charlotte. \u201cIn middle school I played basketball while Charlene danced, but about six months after she started dancing I joined the team as well. We have a lot of the same likes and dislikes such as foods, hobbies, and career goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlene said: \u201cWe did not always do the same things. Charlotte, growing up, was kind of like a tomboy and I\u2019ve always been a girly girl. She played basketball, and ran track. I would just watch.\u201d\u00a0 We, for the most part, have\u00a0 the same likes and dislikes. Our style is very similar. \u00a0 We\u2019ve never been competitive toward one another but throughout our dancing \u201ccareer\u201d one, if not both, of us has always held a leadership position over each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graduation is a big deal for all the Johnson women, and Jackson State is special to all of them.<\/p>\n

Tegra Johnson said, \u201c It\u2019s a really big accomplishment for me. My children know my story and my struggle, they know how hard life was for me. I chose to be a mom very early in my life which meant I had to put my education on hold. My children have always come first in my life and once I set the pattern for them I figured it was my turn to go back to school. I have four children and all of them know they have to go to college. I have never said anything different their entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlotte said what she loves the most about JSU \u201cis the family feeling I get when I\u2019m with my peers or when we are out at a game and they\u2019re cheering for us, or when we beat another school in some activity. \u201cIt feels like we are all one big family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlene said she loves everything about JSU but considers her experience as a J-Sette to be a highlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cJackson State is just an amazing school with a lot of love! From teachers to students to security, lol! I love it all. But if I had to choose one thing I would say my experience as a Prancing J-Sette is what I love most and that\u2019s because it taught me so much,\u201d said the older twin. \u201cBeyond what people see on the field and in the stands, J-Settes teach you how to deal with everyday life, how to be a woman, to take care of yourself in all ways, time management, how to be an ambassador of goodwill for Jackson State University!<\/p>\n

Speaking of being a J-Sette, both of the young woman said time management and staying focused is what helped them make it to graduation day.<\/p>\n

Charlene said: \u201cSchool was never an issue for me when it came to J-Settes. I\u2019m a very organized person so I made sure my work was done before practice. Each fall I had the perfect schedule to make sure I could do my work in time. I never let the title and \u201cfame\u201d of being a Prancing J-Jette get to my head. I remembered what my priority was here at Jackson State. You would always hear the saying \u201cJ-Settes (are) not going to give you a degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlotte echoed her sister\u2019s sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to JSU to get a degree first and foremost, everything else come second including J-Settes, so I had to manage my time well to be successful in my academics and dance career. I was very much use to dancing, doing homework and studying late, and working, so I was able to overcome the challenges of not getting enough sleep or doing a 5-page paper two days before its due.\u201d
\nShe added: \u201cA typical season is very time consuming, hardly any social time. It is basically class, work, practice, homework, practice, study, eat, sleep, and repeat. Traveling was fun, but many times we\u2019d have to take our work with us and do it on the bus or study while we\u2019re on the bus so that we are successful in our academics.\u201d<\/p>\n

From their mother\u2019s perspective, the girls always had her support and encouragement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very proud of my daughters. I taught them to be fearless and if they want to do something, go out and do it and give it all that you have. I taught them to have fun in anything that they do, and most of all they know I will be there supporting them,\u201d said Johnson.<\/p>\n

After graduation, both Charlotte and Charlene have the same plans —\u00a0 to attend nursing school at either the University of Mississippi Medical Center or Hinds. Charlene declares: \u201cI\u2019m done dancing.\u201d\u00a0 Mother Tegra will head to graduate school for her master\u2019s.<\/p>\n

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                                  Special to the Flash Saturday, May 4th is a special day for every graduate at Jackson State University, but for Charlene and Charlotte Johnson and their mother, Tegra Johnson, it is an extraordinary day. \u201cGraduation means everything to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-variety"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}