Michele Perry
Young Alumna of the Year

As a young girl, Michele Perry hated camping. And professionally she never envisioned herself working with children. The Lord had other plans. The city girl from Orange Park, Florida and 1999 Baylor grad, has spent the last seven years in southern Sudan without the benefit of electricity or running water and surrounded by 100 children who refer to her as Mama. Michele's life is proof the Lord works in mysterious ways. Born with multiple significant congenital birth defects, Michele had 23 surgeries by age 13. Still, she says God promised her that she would see people around the world come to know Him. At Baylor, her time serving with Mission Waco inspired her walk with God and ignited her heart to the field of Christian missions. After graduation, Michele served in missionary organizations in Bangladesh and India. In 2006, Michele stepped out on faith to singularly establish a presence for the missionary organization Iris Global in South Sudan. In a perilous environment where children are regularly abducted, trafficked, or used as child soldiers by warring rebel groups, Michele ministered to as many vulnerable children as possible. Within three years her mission had built a children's village on 40 acres. 110 children live there today, and 500 are served though the compound's nursery and school.
Michele recently returned to the U.S. to begin the next phase of her life -- but she certainly hasn't slowed down. She has started a nonprofit organization, Create61, to help others creatively find their callings. She began a leadership and business development firm called Edge Creative Consulting, is an author and is developing a vocational program to train other life and business coaches.
For demonstrating incredible faith and remarkable leadership by a graduate under age 40, congratulations Baylor Young Alumna of the Year, Michele Perry.
