TRiO Student Support Services

Academic Coordinator, TRiO Student Support Services, [email protected]

Welcome to TRiO! I am Terry Perkins-Black, an Academic Coordinator, and a native of Chestertown, Maryland. I graduated from the Kent County Public School system and then attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where I acquired a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration with a minor in Business. I am a first-generation college graduate with a Master’s Degree in Administration of Human Service, and I am currently in a doctoral program in Educational Leadership.

Terry’s passion for serving others has been embedded in her professional and personal life. This passion is manifested in her 27 years, role as a Parole and Probation Agent with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, until retirement (2019). In 2019 driven by her ambition and desire to assist students in navigating the college application process, Mrs. Perkins-Black served as the Minority Achievement Coordinator at Queen Anne’s County High School.

My passion to serve students was created from my own experiences as a student, those of my daughter, and my daughter’s peers. I was blatantly discouraged from attending college and labeled, “less than college material;” this sparked a spirit of perseverance in me that remains today. I became empowered, believing that no one should ever be deterred from pursuing and attaining a college education. My work as a servant leader has been hinged upon the words of Dorothy Height, “Without service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.” My greatest joy is helping students discover their voice, talents, abilities, skills, and purpose in life. It is important for me to sow seeds of hope for my students and utilize timeless adages such as “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe” (Anatole France). Serving others has been embedded in my professional and personal life, manifested in my 27 years as a Parole and Probation Agent with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services until retirement (2019) and my position as the Minority Achievement Coordinator at Queen Anne’s County High School, where I was able to assist students in navigating the college application process.

I enjoy spending time with her husband and daughter, researching familial genealogy, shopping, eating crabs, cooking and baking, and relaxing at the beach. I am a member of the Maryland Department of Human Services Citizen Review Board for Children, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Kappa Theta Omega Chapter, National Association of Parliamentarians, and Howard County Parliamentarian Unit.