DATE: Monday, September 29, 1997            TAG: 9709290076

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   97 lines

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO...

Norview High School senior Janice Sears, who in May learned her years of training for a prestigious military school were for naught when she was medically disqualified from attending the U.S. Naval Academy and Virginia Military Institute because of psoriasis.

The news was devastating to the then 17-year-old honor student who wanted to be a military officer and had been accepted to both schools.

Sears is now on full academic scholarship at Virginia State University in Petersburg. She's studying sociology, with a concentration in the administration of justice. She also has joined the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps and the volleyball team.

Sears, now 18, said she's monitored the goings-on at VMI, where she would have been one of the first female cadets to brave the ``rat line.''

``I'm hearing stuff about what's going on, girls dropping out, girls hitting other people,'' Sears said during a phone interview. ``I wish I was there . . . It just makes me want to go there more. Because of the challenge.''

Sears earned high marks as a star cadet at Norview. She moved up the 11 ranks to the highest NJROTC level, lieutenant commander.

Neither Sears nor her Norview instructor knew her chronic skin disorder would be a problem when she applied to the Naval Academy and VMI.

Military officials have said that psoriasis is a disqualifier because it can be disabling when the lesions flare up, particularly under stress.

Sears' mom, Princess Williams, is proud of her daughter's accomplishments but is happy that Sears avoided a possible rough year at VMI.

``She doesn't have that kind of stress. She's in school, a regular college student,'' Williams said. ``I'm so glad she didn't go. I could just see me waiting at the (VMI's) gate saying, `Will you give me my daughter back please?' ''

Sears said she hasn't given up her hope of going to VMI. She said may apply next year. If she stays at VSU, she may apply for officer training school after graduation. She hopes psoriasis won't keep her out.

``Virginia State has been an enjoyable experience,'' Sears said. ``I wouldn't trade it for anything - but VMI.''

- Staff writer Denise Watson researched and wrote this report.

Michele Harvey left Hampton Roads in 1990 after her contract with WTKR Channel 3 was not renewed. She had been a reporter and co-anchor for the television station for five years.

After being told that her contract with WTKR would not be renewed because of the station's consistent second-place ratings then, Michele Harvey is happy to report that she now is working for a top-ranked station in Charlotte, N.C.

In fact, WSOC-TV, an ABC affiliate, is not just the No. 1 station in Charlotte, Harvey said, it's also ranked No. 3 in the country for local stations and is the top ABC affiliate. In addition, the morning news program that Harvey co-anchors is listed as the No. 1 morning news show in the state.

While she said she hopes to stay with the station for a long time, Harvey realizes that job security in TV isn't the same as with most other careers.

``You can work hard and do a good job and that's not necessarily enough,'' she said.

Harvey said losing her job at WTKR was ``very upsetting,'' but it also ``was a very important lesson to learn in my career.''

What helped most, she said, was the tremendous support she received from viewers after she was let go.

``People were always coming up to me and saying how much they missed me,'' she said. ``A lot of people said they knew something better would come out of this, and they were right.''

Not only did she get a great job in Charlotte, she also met her husband there - an internal-medicine doctor. The couple met on a blind date and married five years ago. It was the first marriage for Harvey and the second for her husband.

Harvey, who will turn 42 next month, described herself as ``the oldest bride in the world.'' But she feels as if she's still on her honeymoon. Her husband, who works odd hours, too, gets up each morning at 3:30 to make her breakfast before she heads to the station.

Harvey said she misses Hampton Roads. She keeps in touch with friends here.

Known for her frequent hair color changes when she worked at WTKR, Harvey said she keeps it blond now. Her natural color is a ``mousy brown,'' she said.

``The stations don't like it when you keep changing your hair,'' she said. ``They want you to stay the same forever, and that's hard when you're a woman. You get bored with the same look.''

- Jane Harper researched and wrote this report. ILLUSTRATION: MOTOYA NAKAMURA/File photo

Janice Sears, 18, a Virginia State University student, was

disqualified from attending the U.S. Naval Academy and VMI because

she has psoriasis.

Photo

Michele Harvey, former reporter and co-anchor for WTKR Channel 3,

now co-anchors a morning show for WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C.

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