How Janea Perry Stays True To Herself

From the streets of San Jose to the close-knit community of Langston, Oklahoma, Janea Perry, a senior psychology major and child development minor, has brought her West Coast energy and passion for helping others to Langston University. With each step of her journey, she is working to make a lasting impact on our campus. She has launched another new initiative called PlanL. It is a free distribution hotline that provides many things like plan Bs, pregnancy tests, menstrual products, and more for free. Something worth knowing about this hotline is that it can be done fully confidential. You have the option to give your information and choose either a face to face pick up or for the item to be put in a disclosed location for you to pick up. This can all be done without the worry of having to pay for it or having to go far off campus where the nearest walmart is 20 minutes away to get the things that you need.

When I asked Janea what her inspiration behind this was she told me that she had heard about Langston having STD and STI problems before she even really got on the campus so between that and watching people have to drop out or face backlash for getting pregnant she decide to address the issues instead of ignore them or run from them. The funding and items for PlanL are courtesy of the “In our voice” fellowship.  For now, students can connect with Plan L through @theplanlhotline_ on Instagram or by reaching out to Janea directly. The hotline launched on october 20th and has since received quite a bit of traction. She noted that she wanted it to be ready for Halloween weekend and felt that it came in handy as it is not only for Langston students but for anyone who needs it. She encourages males to use it as well and recalled a time where a boyfriend reached out on behalf of his girlfriend for a plan B which is just another way to hotline can be used. It is also open to all genders, gender identities and sexual orientations.

When it comes to what got her into to psychology she said, “I didn’t see much conversation about mental health in the Black community growing up. I’ve always wanted to understand the ‘why’ behind people’s thoughts and actions.” She also attested to watching a lot of true crime growing up and calls herself a “true crime fanatic” and this also played a role in her wanting to go into psychology. It wasn’t until she got to Langston that she realized that she also had a passion for early education and child development which is when she decided to minor in child development. Some of her accolades include being a Langston woman, serving as a Langston ambassador, serving on street team, and leading as captain of the Langston University Flash of Fire flag line. Some of her musical background includes playing clarinet in elementary school and then her mom convinced her to give color guard a try in high school. She started twirling rifles as well as flags and realized she had a passion for it and wantedTo continue doing when she went to college. She stated that she always knew she wanted to go to a hbcu and due to there being little to no hbcu influence in Cali she experienced a culture change when it came to color guard/band here at Langston. She says that even though she never saw herself in the captain position, her goal is to leave a piece of her behind.

She is also Miss blue and White, which is royalty for the Beta Epsilon chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity incorporated. While being a part of these on campus organizations, she also became an Ajilla Fellow, which is a women’s leadership fellowship, where she was able to travel to Chicago. She is currently serving as a next generation leadership fellow for “In Our voice National Black Women Reproductive Justice Agenda.” Some of the things she does includes doing her part in uplifting the voices of young black people while also working for policy change and making sure young black people are informed about the challenges we face and how to combat these issues. She of the events she has hosted include a “nothing budt vote” table which she hosted fall 24 which she uplifted “Our right to vote for our reproductive justice” initiative with products from nothing budt cake.

For the fall 2025 semester, she hosted a “tote and flow” table where she gave out free menstrual and wellness products, and she also did an event called “Beyond the Bump” where she provided information and resources on the reality of what it means to be a parent. Her advice for the next generation and for other students is to “stay true to yourself.” She stated, “I’ve never seen myself being a queen on campus, an ambassador, (or) being part of two fellowships at the same time, but staying true to myself, I always knew that I wanted to make a change” and to “know what you came here for and don’t let nobody or anything steer you in the wrong direction.”