PC’s JEDI Division Adds New Hires for Jacobs Scholars Program and Accessible Education Series

Presbyterian College has hired two new staff members working in the college’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion division.

Hope Coudayre, a social worker and certified life coach, is the new director of PC’s Jacobs Scholars Program for students impacted by foster care. At the same time, Janna Barnes has been hired as the accessible education coordinator and deputy Title IX coordinator.

“We are so blessed to have these two amazing and talented individuals join Presbyterian College’s mission to serve students and create a welcoming, nurturing, and empowering  environment for all,” said Dr. Selena Blair, the Rogers-Ingram Vice President for JEDI. “Hope and Janna are dedicated counselors and mentors, and I’m confident they will shine brightly in their new roles here at PC.”

Coudayre was formerly the Aspire Director of Youth Development and senior executive life coach at Fostering Great Ideas in Greenville, where she worked directly with youth in foster care and provided clinical case management for youth and families.

Coudayre said PC’s Jacobs Scholars Program offered a career opportunity combining two of her greatest passions.

“It combines two of my favorite things – foster care and higher education,” she said. “There just aren’t programs like this that offer support on campus for people who have been through foster care. Throughout its history, Presbyterian College has valued the foster care community, so seeing it become a priority and helping those kids reach their goals in college makes you feel validated and motivates you to reach your own goals.”

Coudayre speaks from experience when it comes to people impacted by foster care. At age nine, with parents struggling with addiction, she entered into foster care herself and understands what it means to navigate new environments and often low expectations. Knowing what Jacobs Scholars may have encountered, she said, guides her in her new role at PC.

“My experiences ground me,” Coudayre said. “They humble me and help me to see that I am them and they are me. Even though it’s a director position, I don’t see myself as their authority. I see myself as someone who’s here to guide and support them. Someone who has some seniority and wisdom but is also a mentor, coach, and professor. Someone to help them walk through a very difficult journey but one that was very similar to mine.”

Coudayre is a 2020 graduate of Limestone College in Gaffney, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in social work. In 2023, she completed her Master of Social Work from Western New Mexico University in Silver City, N.M. She is also a certified master professional life coach through the Certified Life Coach Institute in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Barnes has served as the American Sign interpreter, assistive technology specialist, captionist, and Section 508 compliance advisor at Greenville Technical College since 1998. In her various roles, she has helped students receive the accommodations they require to succeed.

Like Coudayre, Barnes understands firsthand the challenges students face, especially those who are disabled or have special needs.

“I personally have a disability myself, so I understand how hard it is to go through the educational system and not have the resources you need,” she said. “I had to teach myself how I learn so that I could then help others to learn the way they learn best.”

Starting out of college as an American Sign Language interpreter, Barnes later learned more about Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, autism, blindness, and other disabilities students may face.

“I reached out to the different populations and said, teach me,” Barnes said. “Tell me what you can do and teach me how you learn. Tell me what kinds of accommodations have worked for you in the past so we can tweak them a little and help you focus on what will help you to be the most successful person that we all know you can be.”

Barnes said she feels an immediate kinship with the people she has met at PC so far.

“When I came for my interview, I immediately felt like I could breathe,” she said.

But helping students is undoubtedly the most gratifying part of Barnes’ new job.

“One of my duties at Greenville Tech was to interpret for commencement,” she said. “Every year, I would see the students that I helped go across the stage. That is one of the best feelings in the whole world to watch those students walk across the stage and receive their degree knowing the struggles they’ve had.”

Barnes began her educational career in sign language studies at Palomar Community College in Vista, Calif., before earning her associate’s degree in interpreter education from Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N.C.

In 2005, she completed captionist training from the RIT National Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. In 2009, she earned an associate’s degree in human services, with certificates in mental health and substance abuse, from Greenville Tech. She also completed another associate’s degree from Greenville Tech in 2017 and recently completed her bachelor’s degree from Bob Jones University.