3 sets of twins graduate from Harmony Grove

Three sets of twins were among this year’s graduates of Haskell Harmony Grove High School. They include, front row, from left, Seth Ambort and his brother, A.J. Ambort, back row; Brady Cross, front row, and his sister, Shelby Cross; and Jasmine Allred, front row, and her sister, Jessica Allred.
Three sets of twins were among this year’s graduates of Haskell Harmony Grove High School. They include, front row, from left, Seth Ambort and his brother, A.J. Ambort, back row; Brady Cross, front row, and his sister, Shelby Cross; and Jasmine Allred, front row, and her sister, Jessica Allred.

— Visitors to Haskell Harmony Grove High School might find themselves doing more than one “double-take” this year. There are three sets of twins in the senior class, four sets in the junior class and one set in the sophomore class.

The “senior” twins include sisters Jasmine and Jessica Allred, brothers A.J. and Seth Ambort and brother and sister Brady and Shelby Cross. They were among those who graduated May 16 in ceremonies at the Bank of the Ozarks Arena in the Hot Springs Convention Center.

Jasmine and Jessica are the 18-year-old daughters of Danny and Maria Allred. They have attended Harmony Grove schools since kindergarten and are magna cum laude honor graduates this year.

Jasmine and Jessica plan to attend the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, where they will room together in a student dormitory. Jasmine will major in biology and hopes to become a radiologist. Jessica is going to major in chemistry and hopes to be a pharmacist.

“We switched seats in class once in 10th grade and really confused the teacher,” Jessica said when asked if they had any funny “twin” stories.

“The teachers always got us confused,” Jasmine said. “We just learned to respond to both names.”

When asked how it felt to be a twin, Jasmine said, “It’s pretty cool. Someone’s always got your back.”

Jessica agreed: “You’ve always got a best friend. You’re never alone.”

Jasmine and Jessica have an older brother, Jordan, 22, who lives in Bryant.

A.J. and Seth are the 18-year-old sons of Mark and Collin Ambort. The family moved to the Harmony Grove School District when the twins were in seventh grade. They are also magna cum laude honor graduates this year.

A.J. and Seth will attend Henderson State University in Arkadelphia and will commute from Saline County. Both plan to major in aviation and become commercial pilots.

In relating a funny story about twins, Seth said they had told teachers the “opposite” name before.

Both have worked at a local movie theater, where, Seth said, their co-workers often confused one for the other.

A.J. and Seth have two older brothers, Zeke, 25, and Caleb, 23, who live in Little Rock, and a younger sister, Emmie, 12, who attends school at Harmony Grove.

Seth and Jessica have been dating about six months.

“We didn’t even know each other for a long time,” Jessica said.

“We rode the same bus when we were younger but never talked,” she said.

“We don’t think having a long-distance relationship will be that hard,” Jessica said, noting that she will be in Conway, and he will be in Arkadelphia most of the time. “We both have been so busy that we are not with each other all the time anyway.”

Brady and Shelby, 18, are the only children of Carlton and Tracy Cross. The Crosses moved to the Harmony Grove School District when the twins were in the seventh grade. Shelby is a magna cum laude honor graduate, but Brady is not.

Brady and Shelby will both attend the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and live on campus. Brady hopes to major in political science and enter politics. Shelby said she is considering the “medical field” as a major but is not sure yet.

“The main thing about us is that he was born first, in a normal birth, then I was born 1 minute 20 seconds later by caesarian section,” Shelby said.

Shelby said Brady was “always a little lazy.”

“I helped him with his work a lot,” she said. “They separated us in school so we would have to work independently.”

They both will live on the UALR campus.

“I will have to room with some random person,” Shelby said, laughing.

The six students were honored May 9 during College Signing Day at Harmony Grove High School. Jasmine and Jessica both received the UCA Excellence Scholarship. A.J. and Seth both received the HSU Presidential Scholarship. Brady and Shelby both received the UALR Chancellor’s Leadership Corps Scholarship.

Waiting in the wings to graduate in 2018 are junior twins Kinsey and Grace Bryant, Colton and Trace Dixon, Janae and Alana Guthrie, and Jacob and Jared Warner. Not far behind are sophomore twins Seth and Sean Duchesneau.

Twins abound in the lower grades as well. They include Joshua and Jodee Sudbury, ninth grade; Caleb and Carson Lewter, Ethan and Max Thrasher, and Erowen and Reese Schneider, fifth grade; Gabe and Naomi Givens, fourth grade; Dylon and Mason Doddridge, and Carmen and Francisco Ramirez, third grade; Brittyn and Lexyn Brown, first grade; and Cash and Carter Russell, and Rico and Rique Montgomery, kindergarten.

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