During the mid-1970s, Janice Valentine Roak made her mark as an exceptional women's basketball and lacrosse player at Millersville. In her senior year (1976), Roak received the Elwood J. Finley Award as MSC's outstanding female athlete, and she also earned the Faculty-Student Athletic Committee's Scholar-Athlete Award. She also received the prestigious Aurora Wickey Pucillo Award for sportsmanship and leadership.
During her years as an undergraduate, Roak competed four years for both the 'Ville basketball and lacrosse teams (both coached by current MU women's athletic director Marge Trout), and helped lead those respective squads to 31-17 and 17-10-1 marks. She also served was president of the Intercollegiate Sports Club. She also was active in intramural flag football and volleyball.
Academically, Roak (a magna cum laude graduate in '76) was a dean's list student in all eight semesters. She was a member of Delta Phi Eta honor society. She earned a master's of public health degree in biostatistics from the University of Michigan in 1978.
Active locally with girls' recreation organizations, Roak served six years as a treasurer and coach for the Penn Manor GIRLS soccer program, and was a basketball coach for five years with the Penn Manor Recreation Association. For four years, she served as treasurer for Millersville Women of Today and was involved for two years with the Parent Support Team at Central Manor Elementary School. She was also an advisor for Junior Achievement.
Jan is currently a manufacturing supervisor with R.R. Donnelley & Sons in Lancaster; she has served the company in human resource and manufacturing capacities since 1982. She and her husband, Jamie, reside in Manor Township and have two children: Elizabeth (14) and Kevin (10).
