Her father attended Perkinston Junior College from 1957-59, playing basketball under Hall of Fame coach A.L. “Hoss” Carpenter. Her mother arrived at Perk in 1958 and became deeply involved in campus life as a cheerleader, Miss PJC, Most School Spirit, a member of the Homecoming Court and an Annual Ball Maid.
Most importantly, it was at Perk that Janey’s parents met. Her father even served as her mother’s escort on the Homecoming Court. The couple later married after he graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi.
Their connection to Gulf Coast soon became a family tradition.
Janey’s aunt Arlene, her father’s sister, attended Perk in 1960-61. Years later, Janey’s sisters followed, with Tracey attending from 1983-85 and Michelle McCormick from 1983-84. Tracey played softball for Gulf Coast and was a member of the team that won the regional championship during her sophomore year.
Although Janey did not attend MGCCC as a student, she eventually became part of the College’s story herself. Since 2010, she has taught at the Harrison County Campus, where she serves as chairperson of the School of Visual and Performing Arts. In spring 2021, she was selected as a commencement speaker during the College’s split ceremonies at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
For Janey, however, some of the most meaningful evidence of MGCCC’s impact comes from simply asking her family what they remember about their time at Perk.
“Without prompting, each of them replied with a recurring theme: ‘These were the best years of my life,’” she said.
Those years left her family with much more than memories of games, classes and campus activities.
“Their experiences at Perk made a mark on their hearts, complete with twinkles in their eyes and smiles on their faces,” Janey said. “The relationships with coaches, teammates and roommates are forever.”
More than 65 years after two young students met on the Perkinston Campus, their family’s connection to Gulf Coast continues through the daughter who now helps create those same kinds of experiences for another generation of students.
