Being appointed to one of the service academies is a special designation that says a lot about a young person. This year, Vicksburg High School senior Gabrielle “Gabby” Perrin has received this assignation to the U.S. Naval Academy by Congressman Fred Upton.
Last year, Schoolcraft High School senior Tom Hurst received Upton’s appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy, making this two in a row for students from the South County area. This hasn’t happened in many years, according to Polly Youngs of Vicksburg, who serves on Upton’s selection committee that interviews all the applicants.
Perrin is still undecided where she will attend college, as Michigan State University’s (MSU) cross country coach has also made overtures about an athletic scholarship. It could easily be an academic scholarship, as she sports a 4.003 GPA at the end of her junior year and has been attending the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science (KAMSC) Consortium in Kalamazoo for half days since her freshmen year in school.
Her interest in MSU stems from family members who have attended, not necessarily on a scholarship however. Perrin has been a runner since her days in middle school and began setting records in track and cross country during high school. Perrin placed second overall in the Wolverine conference in 2014. She recently had a 17th place finish in the state finals meet for class B schools, running on MSU’s celebrated course in E. Lansing. “I haven’t beaten Molly Waterhouse’s records in cross country, but I still have time in track this spring. She was just so good, and I’d like to be like her.”
Running is what Perrin does, even in the middle of winter, logging from 6-10 miles per day. “I feel better when I can get out and run. If I could start every day with a run, that would be the greatest. I did feel that the Naval Academy had a very supportive atmosphere, where I could be successful. It is a big decision, with my goal to get a degree in some phase of engineering,” she said.