Our latest Alumni Q&A features T'Ericka Perry, who is currently teaching in Dubai. T'Ericka was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from Waynesburg University in May 2013 with a bachelors degree in International Culture and a minor in Spanish. She was President of the Black Student Union and served as a Committee Chair for the Student Activities Board. T'Ericka is also a Vira I. Heinz alum.
Q: What are you teaching in Dubai?
A: I will be teaching third grade English, Math and Science at Al Ittihad Private School Mamzar.
Q: Can you describe your time at Waynesburg and how it shaped you as a person?
A: My time at Waynesburg was spent in self-discovery. I was involved in a lot activities, and I embarked on a journey to rediscover my faith. I was a Bonner Scholar and a member of the leadership program Fiat Lux. Waynesburg taught me that leaders don't lead from their comfort zone. It also sparked a love for working with children and a responsibility to have my work match my faith, since faith without works is dead, which is how I ended up leaving a good-paying job to go teach in Baltimore City Public Schools.
Q: What is your favorite memory as a Waynesburg student?
My favorite memory has to be doing a mission trip in Tuba City, Arizona with Kelley Hardie and Frank Pazzynski. I loved that experience so much that I did it twice. I still have the journals we created on that mission trip.
Q: Where has life taken you since graduating from Waynesburg University?
A: Life has taken me all across the world since graduating from Waynesburg. I have traveled and done mission work in Mexico, Ghana and Spain. I have worked in the Baltimore area as a community builder, and above all I strive to uphold mission of Fiat Lux and to be the light I wish to see in the world.
Q: Why is staying connected with your alma mater important to you?
A: My experience at Waynesburg is a fundamental part of who I am as a person. As such, it's always going to hold a special place in my heart.
Q: Who was your favorite professor at Waynesburg, and why?
A: Jeff Kisner was probably my favorite professor at Waynesburg followed closely by Jenny Jellison. Both of them challenged my perspective. They challenged to examine my own thought processes, to have compassion, and to not be afraid to be wrong.
Q: What advice do you have for current students or for recent graduates?
A: Find a job you love and you'll never work another day in your life. Life post-graduation can be a financial mine field. Don't be afraid to look beyond the borders of the United States for opportunities to make the world your oyster.
