Although Jolon McNeil, CAS/BA ’98, is only the older sister by eight minutes, her identical twin—Jolene McNeil, SPA/BA ’97—calls her “the person [she looks] up to most.” Jolon tosses that love right back, naming Jolene “the most brilliant, big-hearted person [she knows].”

In honor of Siblings Day on April 10, the AU Alumni Association celebrates the McNeil twins for their devotion to one another and their alma mater. Jolene, an engagement strategist and nonprofit leader, and Jolon, an educator and acting principal, not only bettered AU during their years on campus but continue advancing its mission as involved Ebony Eagles and alumnae.

The two are so tightly knit into each other’s lives, right down to the matching twists of their DNA, that neither can conceptualize life without the other.

“I don’t know how to explain what it’s like to be a twin [because] I don’t know anything other than that,” Jolon says. “But, I mean, it’s dope,” she adds—where dope is “the highest superlative.”

“We are twin, if that makes sense,” Jolene says. They’re so in sync that they slide into one another’s sentences with just the right words. “It’s just always knowing that I have a cheerleader, a supporter, a mom, a dad, a sister...”

“A backbone,” Jolon interjects.

“A backbone,” Jolene agrees: “a teacher, a nurse, anything that you could ever want in a person...I’m about to cry—I have it in my best friend.”

Philly born and raised

Jolene and Jolon are middle siblings in a five-kid crew. Raised and homeschooled by teacher parents in Philadelphia, they encountered educational excellence at an early age. The sisters were so bookish, in fact, that they became sought-after tutors in their neighborhood.

“Parents would ask us to [help] their grown kids,” says Jolon. Picture the twins as third and fourth graders, guiding late middle schoolers through assignments.

Although school came first in many ways, they also let their creativity soar outside of class. They showcased plays in their parents’ basement, hanging bed sheets on clothesline to make stage backdrops.

They drummed up original songs, like the McNeil classic, “Jolly Old Saint Nick,” and dubbed themselves DJ Clone and MC Duplicate—members of a two-piece rap group.

As teens, they attended the Philadelphia High School for Girls: the first all-female secondary school in the US, which Jolene describes as “really, really inclusive” and diverse. Such an environment fostered meaningful personal growth, and neither twin takes their experiences as youth—whether in the home or their high school—for granted.

“Both of us are really generous,” says Jolon—but “not just financially and gift wise.” They display a “generosity of spirit,” considering other people and their lives “vis-à-vis [their own] experiences” and honoring community above all.

“Not everybody has...good relationships with their family...[like] we have,” Jolon continues. “So, we try to create family...wherever we are.”

Identical twins through a comparative lens

In addition to sharing a “generosity of spirit,” both sisters tend toward the introverted end of the personality spectrum. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t also totally fun loving—especially when music is part of the picture. Jolene describes them, with a laugh, as “let’s-get-up-and-have-a-dance-break kind of people.”

Their song preferences are far from identical, though. Jolene labels herself “a pure hip-hop head,” while Jolon is “the more eclectic” listener, keen on R&B and Prince’s funk-laden bops.

Another way the twins differ relates to the history of their college journeys.

Joining forces at AU

Initially, Jolon didn’t have her sights set on college. Her educator parents, though, put their foot down—leading her to enroll at Beaver College (now Arcadia University) on the outskirts of her home city.

Meanwhile, Jolene shipped off applications to American University and Duke. After visiting AU as a prospective student, she says, “everything else just went away.” Her impression of the university was that it prioritized inclusivity, fostering “a vibrant Black and brown community.”

But this perception didn’t hold once Jolene officially arrived on campus. She would go an entire week before seeing someone who resembled her at her new university, and the effect was alienating. Coming from an exceptionally diverse high school, she experienced “culture shock.” Her first two years at the school, despite her notable involvement, left her feeling unfulfilled.

That is, until her sister rolled through.

Halfway through college, both twins had transferring on the mind. Would they redirect their credits and link up on a totally new campus? The first semester of her sophomore year, Jolon studied abroad in Mexico. But when she returned to Pennsylvania, she realized her school lacked the foreign language resources to help her “grow this skill and...[her] love for it.” So, she initiated her search for new digs.

Then, realization settled in: “It just didn’t at all make any sense for me to go anywhere outside of where Jolene was,” says Jolon. She recalls landing back in the States following her time abroad then hustling down to DC just two days later, where she received the “VIP tour of everything.”

“Folks who Jolene had relationships with, including the president of the university, knew that she was thinking about leaving, and she made it crystal clear if they got [me] to...enroll, then she would stay,” Jolon recalls. She was introduced to everyone from the university president to major-office directors. “They made a way for me to be there with my sister,” Jolon says—“and for us to live together,” Jolene adds.

Once the duo was back in action, “Nothing could go wrong,” Jolene says. “The experience was...a million times better because now I [got] to share it with the person that means the most to me,” she adds. “I felt like a whole person again.”

How to be an Eagle, the J and J way

During their student years, the twins left a significant imprint on the university. Jolene served as president of the Black Student Alliance, whose ranks Jolon would later join. And, living up to her alter ego as “DJ Clone,” Jolene cohosted a hip-hop show on the school radio station with a friend.

The twins also shared a sorority chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc, and volunteered with the Community Service Associates—staying true to their principle to do good in every place they pass through.

While Jolene worked on campus, Jolon held a government role offsite. And as Jolene rolled with SPA students, Jolon occupied CAS spaces. “There [was] still room for you to...create your own identity,” Jolon says. “I got introduced to...American through Jolene and the connections that she made, but I also had my own classes.”

Decades after graduating, the two remain plugged into university life. Jolene served as the founding chair of the Black Alumni Alliance, then went on to join the Alumni Board—offering up her representation for four years. Presently, she is cochair of the Women’s Network, a community Jolon also supports in a leadership capacity.

Additionally, the McNeils initiated a university program called Dope Brown Girl, which hosts Brown Girl Brunch as its signature event.

“Initially, it was for incoming Black freshman women to...have a safe space and get to know alumnae and faculty and staff,” Jolene explains; however, the program’s scope expanded during the COVID era. “The legacy that we’re going to leave at AU is really...trying to help build a community for Black women students at AU.”

“Our parents just raised us to leave every opportunity and every space better than we found it,” Jolene says. “That just is our North Star.”

Embracing sisterly pride

One of the best parts of having a sibling is getting to celebrate each other’s accomplishments. When asked about times they’ve been excited for each other, the McNeil twins let their mutual admiration fly.

“Do you know how dope this girl is?” Jolene asks. “I love what she does with her [students] every day...Even bruised and battered and almost broken, she shows up...and just makes their lives better.” Beyond this, Jolene treasures having pinned Jolon once she chose to join her same sorority.

Conversely, Jolon praises Jolene for her dedication as a volunteer for Extra-Ordinary Birthdays—a charity organizing parties for children who are unhoused. “Jolene doesn’t do anything half [way],” Jolon says. She references the various AU prizes Jolene has taken home over the years, including the Alumni Eagle Award and the BAA’s Inaugural Ebony Eagle Volunteer Impact Award.

Watching “the person you’re most proud of being celebrated”? Jolon calls that a “one-in-a-million type of feeling.”

The twins, through their simultaneous success, also encourage one another to achieve more.

“She’s the person I want to impress all the time,” Jolene says of Jolon. “All the time—same thing,” Jolon echoes, explaining how her sister was a major impetus behind her decision to attend Harvard for graduate school.

“I wanted any student that I had to see that Harvard was accessible,” Jolon explains. “But...truthfully, I wanted Jolene to be able to say, ‘Yeah, my twin goes to Harvard.’”

“And I did that all the time,” Jolene admits, explaining how she’d casually toss the fact into conversations. The pride the twins take in one another is palpable.

Siblings Day takeaways

Back in undergrad, the twins found life to be sweetest when they lived in the same place. As adults, they still consider this to be true.

When COVID first spiked and Jolon’s school moved to a digital format, the two got a taste of what their shared adult life could look like. Jolon dropped her anchor in Maryland for eight months—marking the longest stretch the twins “had been together, really, as [grown] adults,” she says.

Now, closing the distance between them ranks as a priority, to the point where job opportunities dot their digital search histories and moving is a topic of conversation.

“I just need her to fold the laundry; I’ll wash it,” Jolon says. “I just need that balance back in my life.”

***

When it comes to sibling relations, the sisters have some advice: You should “keep ’em close,” says Jolon. “That’s all you got in this world, really,” Jolene adds. “If you have the opportunity to have those connections with the people [who] are your blood, take the advantage.”

“It’s one thing to have...family that you choose,” Jolon says. “But I tell people...I have sisters. I don’t need any of y’all.” (“That’s true,” Jolene quips.)

“We keep each other close,” says Jolon—“especially the girls.” She’s referencing the four in her family: an older sister, the two twins, and their younger sister. In fact, the women have a sisters’ reunion on the horizon—a weekend getaway in Atlantic City, NJ to jam at a New Edition concert.

Beyond this trip, though, perhaps the McNeil twins will align for Siblings Day. After all, it’s plain to see they’re at their best together.