Mon, May 12 2008
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Published April 25, 2008 06:20 pm - PITTSBURG, Kan. — When Juana “Janie” Perkins read from a children’s book in front of students and faculty at Pittsburg State University on Friday, she looked right at home. Regent shares story of her immigration By Doug Graham news@joplinglobe.com PITTSBURG, Kan. — When Juana “Janie” Perkins read from a children’s book in front of students and faculty at Pittsburg State University on Friday, she looked right at home. The book, about a Hispanic boy named Jorge whose schoolmates and teachers repeatedly call him “George,” mirrors Perkins’ struggles growing up as a Mexican immigrant. But Perkins, 46, a former elementary school teacher who is now a member of the Kansas Board of Regents, didn’t let ignorance slow her quest for the American dream. “We need to communicate — really, we do,” said Perkins, stressing that many of the problems immigrants face can be solved with compassion and understanding. Perkins, born Juana Vargas, came to America with her parents when she was 10 years old. She spoke no English and, because of a lack of schooling in her Mexican village, couldn’t even read Spanish. But a love of reading soon took hold in Perkins. “From the first time I was able to comprehend the English language I started to read, and I haven’t stopped,” Perkins said, before reading a Maya Angelou poem to the audience. In her lightly accented voice, Perkins shared several stories about her childhood as an immigrant. She told of becoming her parents’ interpreter, helping them buy vehicles, houses and other necessities, and made the audience laugh with the story of translating a quarrel between her father and a mechanic. Perkins says that after she met her husband, an American who dreamed of becoming a family physician, she began to plan big things for her life. “The American dream started being ingrained in me,” Perkins said. She decided she wanted to be a teacher, fondly remembering the nuns who taught her to read at her childhood parochial school. At first, the amount of work required seemed daunting, so she and her husband drew up a plan. “When we looked at it year by year, it didn’t seem so difficult,” Perkins said. “By the time we finished those 11 years, we had finished both degrees and had five kids.” Perkins received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Newman University in Wichita, Kan. 
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