User:ZPratt


 * Zena Denise Jenkins-Pratt (born April 12, 1960), first entered Prince George's Community College in the Spring of 1980 as an art major. In November 1982, Zena met her future husband, Michael R. Pratt and decided to put college on hold. After twenty years, she returned to college in 2011 and is currently working towards a 2-year degree in Web Technologies.

Early Life

 * Zena is the oldest child of Janie Louise and John Allison Jenkins. She was a Military Brat born on Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Maryland.  Being born in a military family afforded Zena the opportunity to travel and exposed her to various cultures at a young age.  When she was born, her father was stationed in Izmir, Turkey.  When Mr. Jenkins finally saw his daughter for the first time, she was an adorable, but spoiled 9 month old baby.


 * At the young age of 4 her father was stationed on Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. Two memorable events occurred while living in Anchorage. First, the 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan Earthquake, the Portage Earthquake and the Good Friday Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that began at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964.

Even though she was only 4 years old she has vivid memories of that day. She recalls that her mother was 7 months pregnant with her little sister and her father was at work at the time. This earthquake spread across south-central Alaska, causing ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused approximately 143 deaths. The second event, was the birth of her sister, Veronica Jenkins on May 11, 1964.

Early Education

 * As a Military Brat, Zena had to adapt to constantly moving and learn to leave friends behind and make new friends every few years.


 * 1962-1966 - Preschool and Kindergarten, Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska
 * 1966-1968 - First Grade, Griffiss AFB, Rome, New York
 * 1968-1969 - Second and Third Grade, Offutt AFB, Omaha, Nebraska
 * 1969-1971 - Fourth and Fifth Grade, Anderson AFB, U.S. Territory of Guam
 * 1971-1972 - Sixth and Part of Seventh Grade, Norton AFB, San Bernardino, California
 * 1972-1974 - Seventh thru Part of Ninth Grade, Ankara Air Station, Ankara, Turkey
 * 1974-1978 - Ninth Grade thru High School, Suitland, Maryland

Adult Life
In 1982, Zena, who was 22 years old at the time, met Michael Pratt who was a 30-year-old Air Traffic Controller in the U.S. Army. During their eight year courtship, they traveled to Germany, France, and Italy and were finally married on September 8, 1988. Zena planned a romantic honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico. Unfortunately, it was not to be. They had one beautiful night before Hurricane Gilbert hit Cancun.



The seventh named storm and third hurricane of the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season, Gilbert developed from a tropical wave on September 8. Michael and Zena were stranded in Cancun for the entire 7 days of their honeymoon. Fortunately, they were vacationing in one of the few hotels in Cancun that was not destroyed by the hurricane. They were finally evacuated on the last day of their honeymoon. During their first year of marriage, Michael was stationed in Ft. Riley, Kansas, which is located between Junction City and Manhattan, Kansas. As fate would have it, while celebrating their first anniversary in a lovely restaurant, Michael and Zena were interrupted before they could even place their order by a tornado. They were forced to hide with the other guests, underneath tables in the kitchen. Thankfully, the tornado bypassed the restaurant and all was well. This was the beginning of many exciting adventures to come.