Hinds Aviation allows aspiring mechanic to fly high

With a 4.0 grade point average, Jazmyn Perritt had plenty of options when she graduated early from Clinton High School at age 16.

“When I was only about a month away from graduating high school, I wasn’t sure where I was going to go, but then I found Hinds,” Perritt said. “It was close to home, which meant I didn’t have to move on to a campus, yet. Being only 16 that was a scary thought.”

An added bonus is that she received two Hinds Community College Foundation Scholarships, the Excellence in Career & Technical Education Scholarship and the Mississippi Jets Scholarship.

With her love of math and science, she wasn’t interested in pursuing an easy or traditional career path. She came to Hinds for the Aviation program and will graduate in May 2024 with an associate degree in Aviation Maintenance Technology.

“Since I was a little kid, I have been obsessed with the skies,” Perritt said. “Why go straight to space before learning all the basics of a rocket ship, though? Rocket ships are a lot like spacecraft. I am a very hands-on learner, so I wanted to take this route into Aviation Mechanics.”

But Perritt is still on her educational journey and admits that anything could happen during her next semester in the program.

“When I first came to Hinds, I was so nervous about being a woman in a male-dominated field. After three semesters I can confidently say, I’m having a blast,” Perritt said. “I always dreamed that I’d be able to show girls that you don’t have to be a nurse or a kindergarten teacher. You can do whatever your heart desires. If you want to be a grease monkey, go ahead, be a grease monkey. It’s the greatest decision I’ve ever made.”

She is one of several women in the Aviation Mechanics program taught by Hinds instructor WP Marsh. Perritt just seemed to find her way to the airfield by following her own sense of wonder and curiosity. Marsh said Perritt has stood out from the beginning.

“She is goal-oriented, and very focused,” he said. “She is academically at the top of her class and she’s always willing to help out and volunteer. She’s a team player. From the beginning she started a study group with fellow students, and they meet regularly, too. I can say for certain that she is one of the most self-assured young people I have ever met.”

Perritt said that she’d had every experience and opportunity she could have possibly wanted by starting at Hinds.

“Being in the Hinds Aviation course has given me so many opportunities,” she said. “I’ve been able to talk to people from NASA, the Air Force and even people from different aviation companies like Boeing. We recently went to Hawkins Airfield and I got to climb around on Black Hawks.”

Despite her challenging program, she still finds time to tutor a dozen students in math and science, ranging in age from first grade to fellow college students.

“I love teaching them math and science. Mostly math. I just have a passion for teaching. I love tutoring my kids. I call them my kids because I see them everyday. And I’ve just fallen in love with them,” Perritt said, placing her hand over her heart. “So, I’m thinking that I am going to put all of these things together and I’m going to go to Mississippi State to major in mathematics with a minor in a teaching degree. And all of this, is the coolest thing. I could combine all three and become an Aviation instructor.”