the story of janine.

growing up outside of a military base near savannah, georgia, janine spent the first half of her life traveling with her military parents. settling in georgia right before middle school, janine knew the south would be home. janine attended georgia southern university (gsu), in scenic statesboro, ga, for her undergraduate degree. during undergrad, janine was active as an employee in the student union, a minority advisement program (map) mentor for first year students of color, & pledged her sorority, zeta phi beta, sorority, incorporated. after earning a bachelor of science in justice studies in 2005, janine loved it so much, she stayed for graduate school. entering into the higher education administration program at the college of education at gsu, janine also worked as a graduate assistant for the multicultural center, in charge of diversity & inclusive programming designed for a campus of 11,000+ students, as well as continuing in her map program mentor role. janine also pursued an educational specialist degree at georgia southern, starting in 2007.

janine began her professional career in 2007, working as an enrollment services specialist at georgia state university (the other gsu), located in atlanta, georgia. over her time in that role, janine realized that she missed student affairs & positive, engaging interactions with student populations, & decided to take a chance and try something new. in 2008, janine secured her first role within residence life & housing, having been hired as a residence life coordinator at the art institute of atlanta. in this role, she supervised an ra staff of 5, & was responsible for 125 students in privately-owned apartment communities outside sandy springs, ga. janine served as a member of the case management team, coordinated move-in & move-out processes, oversaw assignments, provided programming & community development, served as a conduct officer, & liaised with other student affairs officers within this role. completely new &, at times, overwhelmed in this new role, janine knew that she had found her passion. housing & residence life allowed janine a role in which she could build relationships with students, mentor & advise them through their collegiate experiences, while also serving as an educator & resource for students when they encounter challenges or life transitions. being able to see, connect with, & help students across all facets of their experience at the university gave janine a sense of fulfillment & purpose, & provided janine with the opportunity to contribute to student’s experiences in the same way that professionals at georgia southern university had contributed to hers.

from that first housing & residence life position in 2008, up until the present, over fifteen years later, janine has had the pleasure & the privilege to work in a variety of positions at a diverse array of institutions. having worked her way up from that residence life coordinator role to a senior level administrative director role, janine has supervised all levels of staff; overseen all housing types & models; created & executed various residential curriculum, programming models & housing philosophies; collaborated with campus partners in student affairs, academic affairs & enrollment services; & led & been led by a diverse & talented cohort of professional supervisors, mentors & advisors. with this experience, background & passion, janine is truly a higher education “lifer” who can’t imagine themselves anywhere other than on a college campus, meeting students, attending & hosting programming, & challenging while supporting student learning.

at the same time janine was developing their professional career, janine also began her family life. janine’s first child, jo was born in 2001, when janine was a freshman in college. jo is a writer, artist, & social justice advocate. passionate about animals, equal rights & art, jo is poised for greatness. janine’s second child, emery, was born in 2005, during janine’s first year of graduate school. emery is a humanitarian: soft, caring & generous. emery has not decided what path to blaze yet in the world, but janine is certain it will involve advocacy, compassion & love. janine is also family to a beloved pit bull mix named marley, who loves potatoes, pillows & jo (although not always in that order). marley came to join the family in september 2017, when he decided to rescue janine, jo & emery from doglessness. janine is a proud big sister to kira and first daughter to rudine. janine is also passionate about beyoncè, outkast, claudette colvin, toni morrison, octavia butler, fried chicken, hoodies, television, reading & naps. depending on the day, janine is more passionate about some than others, but more often than not, beyoncè is always near the top. janine enjoys documentaries, true crime podcasts, reality television & pixar movies. janine has no idea who half of the most current singing artists are anymore, & has no interest in following trends. much like the gap, french fries & sade, janine trends towards timeless classics.