Many athletes decide they want to go pro in their childhood years. But that wasn’t the case for Denver Summit FC’s Jasmine Aikey. While the 20-year-old was always passionate about soccer, “going into college, I knew that I wasn’t sure [about going pro],” she tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview. “As I went through the years and saw my teammates going pro and was closer to that world, I think I got more interested.”
A big moment for Aikey came when, during her junior year at Stanford University, she took a tackle from behind and suffered a broken ankle. “I realized how grateful I was for soccer when I was away from it,” Aikey says. “That’s when I went all-in.”
And all-in she went. During her time at Stanford, Aikey played in four different positions, including forward and midfielder, all while maintaining a near-perfect GPA. Throughout her time on and off the field, she became the first Black female soccer player to earn the MAC Hermann Trophy and Academic All-America honors in the same year. The achievement was a profound one for Aikey. “I was really grateful for all the people that helped me along the way, because as much as it’s an individual award and accomplishment, I wouldn’t have gotten there without my team and my support system around me,” she says. “Honestly, I’m truly grateful.”
With such an accomplishment at such a young age, Aikey hopes to empower other female athletes of color. “It’s like an honor and a privilege to be in a position to inspire others,” she says. “I remember being around 13 and watching Catarina Macario win the [MAC Hermann] Award, and being super inspired by her, so hopefully, I could be a role model the same way she was for me.”
Now freshly finished with college, Aikey is adding a new role to her resume: professional soccer player. Aikey signed with the Denver Summit FC and is set to start her debut season in March. “The NWSL is such a step up from college, so it’s been a really good experience to just be challenged,” she says. “I’m just really looking forward to trying to help Denver win and improving in a lot of different aspects this season.”
Out of all of the success that Aikey achieved at such a young age, Aikey wants to remind other athletes the same advice that she received from her father: the bad days lead to good days. “You have to work through the hard times to have those big moments or achieve your goals,” she says. It’s all about one thing: “Perseverance.”
What’s one study hack or mental habit You used at Stanford?
I don’t think I have any specific study hacks — I wasn’t OK with mediocrity and so in the classroom, that just meant studying until I felt like I had a really good grasp of it.Â
What’s your favorite way to spend time when you’re looking for self-care?
More recently, I’ve been stepping away from LEGO and started golfing a bit more.Â
What drew you to golf?
Honestly, I’m not sure what initially drew me to it. I would just go out to the range with my friends, but it became something where it was so hard to be good at that I just really wanted to be good at it.
What pair of sneakers have you recently customized?
I haven’t done much of it recently, but I’ll take Air Forces Ones and use this leather paint on it — I have cool Charmander ones I did.