Franklin graduate, Judy Pearson has a point to prove

When Judy Pearson walks across the stage to receive her diploma at Southwestern Community College’s graduation May 10 she has a point to prove. That point is - you really can “teach an old dog new tricks.”

Judy Pearson

“I simply had to reinvent my life when I moved to North Carolina,” said this Franklin resident.

For 35 years she was in the same technical field in Florida, proficient and comfortable that she would be in that career until she retired.

But then her whole life changed. When her elderly parents she had been caring for died, Pearson decided to leave the “craziness of Florida and move to the mountains.

“I got the heck out of Dodge in 2001 and never looked back,” she said. The only problem was she couldn’t find a job here in her chosen profession.

“I was 50-some years old, had no other skills and didn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” she said. “Then I got to thinking about what I’d really like to do. Ever since I was a young child I had this dream of being a hair stylist. You should see what I did to the heads of all my Barbie dolls!”

Her sister Suzy Gregory told her about the cosmetology program at Southwestern Community College and Pearson decided to investigate.

“At first I was petrified…going back to school at my age,” Pearson said. “But I eased into it. First I did the nails course and simply loved it…that took eight months. I loved it so much that I jumped right in to the cosmetology program after that. That took 16 months.”

Knowing the commitment of time it would take to get her degree worried Pearson as first.

“But it was over in the blink of an eye. I really can’t believe how fast it went. If somebody out there is worried about the time it will take them to get a degree or certificate, I’m here to tell them they, too, won’t believe how fast the time flies.”
Having fun in class really speeds up the time, she said. “You know what they say, ‘My, how time flies when you are having fun!’

“Not only do the instructors, Randy McCall, Connie Gregory and Debbie Ray, make it fun, but they really care about their students and treat us like family. I guess you could say I became sort of the mother figure for many of the younger girls. I made friends in class that will be my friends forever.”

What she learned from her instructors went well above and beyond the classroom, Pearson said. “For instance, we had to punch a time clock and they were always stressing punctuality. When you have a client, they will expect you to be on time, they kept telling us. And they told us about setting an example- not to be frumpy, but to look good ‘cause a client is coming to us to look good…also, give clients a little extra attention…those kind of things you don’t learn in a textbook.”

Pearson said the extra care and attention of others at the college impressed her, too.

“I was worried about how I was going to pay for college and the financial aid people told me about several grants that could help me. They even hooked me up with work study. Southwestern gave me the means to make a living and I owe my future to them.”

That future includes a job as manicurist at Lake View Spa in Fontana and as a stylist at Added Touch Beauty Salon in Franklin.

“The owner of Added Touch, Sabrina Bowers, is also a graduate of SCC so I feel right at home on the job,” Pearson said.

“What Judy won’t tell you is that she struggles with a disability - Chronic Obstructive Pumonary Disease (COPD) but she refuses to let that get her down,” said her sister. “It affects Judy’s breathing and obstructs her air flow and she was worried that all the sprays and chemicals used in a salon environment would make her breathing difficulties even more severe. The doctors told her she could go on disability. But not Judy. She wants to work and to be a contributing member to society. Another thing she probably won’t tell you is that she volunteers her time and skills by going to the homes of elderly people who can’t get out. She fixes their hair and nails and makes them feel good. That’s just the kind of person she is.”

For the past two years Pearson, a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the National Technical Honor Society, has served as a marshal at graduation but this year she will walk across the stage to receive her own diploma.

“I’m going to be 57 in August but that doesn’t mean I have to take a back seat to anybody,” she said. “When I walk across the stage I want folks to know that I am living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.”

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