For the first 11 years of his life, Pearson and his family lived in his grandfather’s tenant farm house. In his role now as an associate professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, Pearson hopes to speak for his family and for others who have not been able to finish college or go on to be a professor. It turned out, however, that the scholarship Pearson received meant he had to spend a considerable time taking classes at Duke University, where he would later become a professor.