Ms. Tiffany Perkinz

BA in English, Class of 2013
 Teaching Certificate, Class of 2015
MA in English, Class of 2017
M.Ed. in Educational Administration 2019
Assistant Director of Study Abroad and Student Exchange

Interviewed by Vidisha Barua Worley on 03/02/2023

Tiffany with her husband, Jordan Perkinz, and the kids (oldest to youngest) Haylie, Jillian (girls)
and Benjamin, Gavin (boys)

‘The first year at Lamar was when I actually met my husband.’

 ‘In 2007 I graduated from high school. That following fall I enrolled in Lamar University and began working on my bachelor’s degree. I wasn’t quite ready, so I took about a year and a half off. I got married quite early when I was 20. The first year at Lamar was when I actually met my husband. We went to high school together but we didn’t really know each other. We were both in the first semester at Lamar University. We would go eat at the dining hall. We would eat breakfast and lunch together in the dining hall. Sometimes we would go hang out in the rec center where they had the couches and the air hockey tables. So, we would sometimes skip class to do that. But I was a good student and did eventually finish. We are still together. Still today my husband will come have lunch with me at the Lamar dining hall.
 
I decided to go back to school and didn’t stop. I finished my bachelor’s in 2013. I got my teaching certification at Lamar. Shortly after becoming a teacher, I started working on my master’s in English. I graduated in 2017. I was teacher, and was thinking about getting into administration. So, I graduated 2019 from the Master of Educational Administration program. After teaching for nine years, I came to Lamar University as the assistant director of Study Abroad. Lamar has been a part of my life for a long time. 

I had two of my children while I was a student here and was pregnant with my third child when I graduated with my bachelor’s. It was a non-traditional experience to be a young mother and a college student. But I was also the same age as my peers. My professors were great with how they were willing to work with me. I had one of my children in the middle of a semester and the professors were willing to work with me. That made me feel how great Lamar was.

 I had a class with Professor Sorensen on the philosopher Foucault. That changed my perspective about a lot of things. Critical theory was another class that was very helpful. The entire English Department was great!