“I call it my blessing in disguise,” she said. “Tearing my ACL was the game changer. I never would have ended up there had I not torn my ACL.”

Before tearing her ACL, King was heavily recruited by universities from powerhouse athletic conferences. Once she was injured, most of those “looks” vanished. Of the few that remained, North Carolina A&T State University was the best fit.

“When I came to A&T to visit, it felt like home. I felt like a part of a family with people I barely knew,” she said.

As a student-athlete at N.C. A&T, King maintained a nearly perfect grade point average and graduated with a 3.95. She was named Outstanding Honors Student in the School of Technology. She was also captain for three of her four years. Success in sports and academics had always been a package deal for King.

“Academics always came before sports. My mom is an educator,” she said.

On the court, the five-foot 10-inch guard was the 14th player in program history to score at least 1,000 points. She ended her playing career with 1,172 points, 561 rebounds, 223 steals and 169 assists. Her honors included All-MEAC second-team selection in 2014, Lady Aggie All-Around award, Lady Aggie Defensive award, Department of Athletics Senior Female Athlete of the Year, MEAC Commissioner’s All-Academic Team and Most Improved award after her freshman season.

In addition to those accolades, King was able to secure an internship with Nike Inc. in the summer of 2013 that led to another internship that transitioned into her current position as a customer service representative for Olympic Sport Marketing with the international brand. King is an extended temporary employee who has been contracted through the Olympics.

“I did not by any means do this on my own,” she said.

King credits her professors and coaches for supporting and encouraging her to apply for the internship and helping her in her application process.

“I had friends who went to bigger schools and they ask, ‘how did you get that’ and honestly, I had the support. You don’t get that everywhere,” she said.

In her current position, King provides personal customer service for athletes, supports Nike Canada and several NCAA conferences.

“When people asked me what I’d like to do after college, I’d always say I wanted to work at ESPN or a sporting company, so I never had a clear vision of what I wanted to do. That is why this is such a great opportunity because I get to do so much,” she said.  “I couldn’t see a better opportunity because I get to work around sports and athletes and on top of that, I get to work for Nike.”

She has her sights set on becoming a full-time Nike employee.

“I haven’t figured out what my long-term plan looks like and I’ve found things I really enjoy doing. I love helping other people, providing good service and building and maintaining good relationships,” she said. “It’s kind of like, ‘what are you going to do next?’ I’m just going to keep working hard and see what opportunities present themselves.”

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