Former Secret Service Agent Speaks to Carey Scholars
Hattiesburg, Miss., November 12, 2012 - Howell Purvis, retired special agent for the U.S. Secret Service, spoke to Carey Scholars during their monthly Honors Colloquium at William Carey University on October 12.
Purvis, an alumnus of Pearl River Community College, spent ten years in the navy as a navy aviator, including 6 months in Vietnam. In 1968 he entered the U.S. Secret Service as a special agent and served 20 years before retiring. His career as a special agent included working for six U.S. presidents: Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. Howell and his wife Mary Ann have four children, 10 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. They reside in Purvis.
Carey Scholars are select students chosen to be part of the Presidential Honors Program based on academic excellence. The 2012 - 2013 Carey Scholars number 77, which includes 22 freshmen.
