JANIE L. MINES – USNA GRADUATE

The USNA Class of 1980 went down in history. Not only was this the first class to graduate female midshipman, but among those 55 women, Janie L. Mines was the first African American female graduate. Notably, she was followed a year later by her sister Gwendolyn, Class of 1981.

Mines became a midshipman drill instructor, squad leader, and joined the fencing team at Annapolis. Upon graduation, Mines became one of the first women to be assigned to shipboard billets (jobs) and was assigned to the Navy Annex at the Pentagon.

After leaving the Navy, Mines was selected to be an Olympic Torchbearer in 2002 and is currently an independent executive management consultant. Mines also serves on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

Regarding her feat, she said: “I think that I’m somebody who’s just trying to do the best they can in life as it relates to my fellow man and the things that God has for me to do. If that means I’m the first or the millionth to do it, I don’t think about it one way or the other.”

Source: https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/article/2368812/naval-academy-was-personal-calling-for-first-black-female-plebe/