After non-traditional route, Edison Pearce become 1st Wallace State student selected to present at Sigma Tau Delta Convention

HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Wallace State Community College student Edison Pearce wanted to make Shakespeare a little more modern.
His intentions definitely paid off.
Pearce, a member of Wallace State’s Sigma Kappa Delta English Honor Society, has been invited to participate in the 2015 Sigma Tau Delta Convention in Albuquerque, N.M., on March 18-21, where he will share and present his paper “Willy Shakes and a Prince Named Hamlet.”
Pearce insists the paper, which he wrote in Karen Morris’s English 102 class, was penned to make Shakespeare and Hamlet a little easier to understand.
“I love to write and Ms. Karen Morris gave us some freedom with the assignment, and I just took off with it. I wanted to make Shakespeare more approachable because he can be intimidating, even to the average high school or college student. I had never studied him because he seems so unapproachable,” Pearce said. “Shakespeare almost single handedly invented the English language. I want people to know that and wanted to show just how important Shakespeare should be to us. In this age of social media and texting, we can very well lose track of real literature. Shakespeare is important. Hamlet is important.”
Pearce, 51, is the first Wallace State student to be selected to share his work at the annual convention. Approximately 625 students from colleges and universities were deemed worthy enough to make the convention’s cut, including Pearce, who will be one of the few community college students represented at the event.
“I consider this one of the greatest achievements I’ve had. It’s a privilege. There were thousands of submissions worldwide and only a handful of students from junior colleges were chosen,” Pearce said. “I’m still dumbfounded by it all.”
Pearce’s submission has been categorized into the Original Creative Writing session at the convention and he’ll be allotted 15 minutes to read and discuss “Willy Shakes and a Prince Named Hamlet.”
Morris, a Wallace State adjunct instructor, allowed her students to get creative with the particular assignment that spawned Pearce’s “Willy Shakes and a Prince Named Hamlet.”
“The assignment was to write about Hamlet in a creative way, and Edison’s creativity shines though in that submission. The assignment allowed for a little more leeway than others and Edison took advantage,” Morris said. “It’s amazing Edison has been selected to share the piece at the convention. It’s definitely a fun take on Shakespeare and Hamlet.”
Dr. Mary Barnes, Wallace State’s English Department Head, is thrilled Pearce has been selected to present at the Sigma Tau Delta Convention.
“I’m very proud Edison Pearce is representing our honor society. It’s a first for our department. Edison is a non-traditional student who has worked very hard to make a name for himself. It’s a very exciting time for our department and a tribute to some of the good things we are doing here. I’m excited that one of our adjuncts is his instructor, and I think it shows the quality of our full-time and adjunct instructors,” Barnes said. “Edison’s submission was very interesting and had a good voice to it. It was well written and had a lot of humor.”
Pearce moved to Alabama after near tragic accident
Pearce’s route to Wallace State was indeed an untraditional one. Pearce, a father of four, didn’t move to Alabama until 2009 and that was out of necessity.
Pearce was born and raised near Fresno, Calif., where he worked as a stainless steel welding contractor up until his mid-40s. While living in California, Pearce was a motorcycle enthusiast and hit the roads anytime he could. His passion turned into a life-altering wreck. Pearce was riding down the highway one day and was struck by an oncoming vehicle, which was illegally crossing the highway. The accident left Pearce with multiple fractures, including broken legs, ribs and a hip, and a large plate in his pelvis holding it together. It kept Pearce from walking for nearly four years.
After several extensive surgeries, Pearce was close to giving up hope he could live a normal life again because he still needed a unique modified hip replacement surgery, which he thought would never be available.
“I was dying. I didn’t really have much hope for the last operation so I decided to go across the country and visit all my close friends and family members one last time. On my way to Alabama (to visit an aunt), I got a call from St. Vincent’s Hospital in Little Rock, Ark. There was a surgeon there who said he could fix me. No one else had been able to. Sure enough it worked. I had the operation 10 days later, and my aunt suggested I come to Cullman to heal up. I needed somewhere to go. Truthfully, I was homeless at that point,” Pearce said. “I absolutely hated the move when I first came to Alabama, but was thankful to be alive. I hadn’t seen my aunt in a long time, really since I was a kid, but she was willing to take me in and help me start my life over.”
Pearce said it took him a long time to get adjusted to the cultural changes between living in California and Alabama, from seeing churches on virtually every corner in Alabama to understanding and getting accustomed to a Southern accent.
Beginning a new path
Once the dust settled from his final surgery, Pearce was searching for a fresh start.
“I was at a point physically where I was unable to go back to what I was doing (as a contractor). One thing I knew still worked was my brain. I knew I couldn’t find a good job utilizing that particular muscle unless I went somewhere to further my education,” Pearce said. “Looking back, riding down to Wallace State and asking what I needed to do to get started was one of the single smartest things I’ve ever done. It’s given me a new perspective on life. Once I realized I wasn’t going straight to a four-year college, I picked Wallace State because it was the closest one, but it’s more than that now. Wallace State changed my life. It gave me a new lease on life and has been a catalyst of change for the better.”
When Pearce enrolled at Wallace State in 2012, he wasn’t sure where to start, especially since he was starting college at a non-traditional age.
“I had a lot of questions. I didn’t know how to turn the computer on. I didn’t have an email. I didn’t understand how to use one. I didn’t understand how to use Blackboard. I was so glad to get the assistance from the Student Support Services (SSS) group on campus to help me with those things. You have to know those technological things in order to be a student today,” Pearce said. “The SSS group also helped me with tutoring and answering the hard questions I had. They directed me in the right path and gave me advice on which person to see on campus when I had a problem. They do a great job of making life easier for a student.”
S.F. Lovell of the Wallace State TRIO/Student Support Services group has enjoyed watching Pearce mature as a student and leader for his peers.
“Edison has been in our program since he’s been enrolled here. He has shown great leadership and served as a great example for other students. He’s always done exactly what we’ve asked him to do and is a very high achiever,” Lovell said. “Edison comes up here for everything. He goes on trips with us. He has really taken advantage of this program.”
Once Pearce established a routine on campus, he was impressed with how easily he fit in with classmates, especially those much younger than him.
“Even though I’m an older student, I’ve never felt left out of anything. I’m generally the oldest student in my classes and quite honestly older than some of my instructors. That hasn’t been a hindrance in any way. If I were to let it be, or if I had a stigma about it, then it might be a problem,” Pearce said. “I’m able to make friends easily. People turn to me and ask me to be in their group and that’s pretty cool. I’ve always tried to participate in class, and I think that’s one reason I’ve always been comfortable. I’ve made some good friends in the process.”
Pearce credits Morris for helping him discover his talent for writing and motivating him. Morris has equal praise for Pearce.
“Edison is one of those students who makes you want to be a teacher. He came to college on the non-traditional route and didn’t know what to expect. He’s worked so hard and continues to impress me,” said Morris, who’s in her third year as a Wallace State adjunct. “I’m just really thrilled he has found this success, especially later in life. I was a non-traditional graduate student, so I know some of what he feels. We have that connection. I’ve encouraged Edison as much as possible and he has come out soaring. It’s been so fun to watch.”
Pearce, whose career goal is to be a museum curator, is on track to graduate from Wallace State in May with an associate’s degree in general studies. He plans to transfer to UAB in the fall and major in anthropology.
After Pearce settled into the Cullman area, his children, Jessica, 19, and Thomas, 18, followed. Pearce’s brother has also moved to Alabama and his parents are in the process of making the move as well upon their retirement.
Pearce is eager to arrive in New Mexico next week to share his take on Shakespeare and Hamlet.
“I look so forward to it. It will be one of the biggest events of my life,” Pearce said. “I’m so glad Wallace State has allowed me this chance. I’ve seen all sorts of junior colleges, and Wallace State is a cut above. The entire idea of an education has helped me in every way.”
For more information about the 2015 Sigma Tau Delta Convention, visit www.english.org/sigmatd/conv.
For more information about Wallace State, visit wallacestate.edu.

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Russell Moore
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Kristen Holmes
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