Justin J. Pearson: The Man, the Myth, the Legend

HC: Full name please, for the record?JP: “I am Justin J. Pearson.”

HC: But what is the mysterious J?JP: “J dot. I want to name one of my children after me, and make him J Dot, actually… But it’s Jamal. Justin Jamal Pearson.”

HC: The mystery’s already falling away. Home town?JP: “Memphis, Tenessee: home of Elvis and barbecue. Not born and raised. I lived there ‘til I was ten, moved to Centreville, Virginia, which is right outside of D.C. I lived there for five years, and then we moved back to Memphis.”

HC: Why did you go back?JP: “My dad went to grad school in D.C. for a masters in Divinity, but now his job is in Memphis. Most of my family is there, and at the time my grandmother was there, so there was a lot of impetus to go back.”

HC: What’s your family like?JP: “I have four brothers, three older, one younger. My parents come from big families. My mom was the baby out of five. She has four older brothers. And my dad is one of six. It’s a lot of people.”

HC: So you’re not quite the baby.JP: “I’m not quite the baby, and I’m not the middle, so I’ve created a name for my position: the Justinian position.”

HC: It sounds like the reign of an emperor!JP: “Right! That’s where the name comes from! So I was like, ‘In honor of he, and myself, the fourth out of five will now be called the Justinian position.’ We’re going to rewrite history!”

HC: I think it’s inevitable at this point. The wheels are in motion, it’s going to happen. I’ll make sure to tell any fourth children that I meet…JP: ‘“Oh, so you’re the Justinian position?”’ It rolls right off the tongue.”

HC: I think it does. So does your legacy in politics come from good old Emperor Justinian?JP: “He did do some good work. He had an interesting life. He created something called the Justinian Code, which is reminiscent of some laws we have now… But the name Justin is in relation to justice, mainly because of the work that he did.”

HC: You gained some of your fame, so to speak, at least among the class of 2017, with your illustrious campaign last year.JP: “Oh gosh, it was my roommates and my friends, not me. I had very little to do with that success.”

HC: What made you want to get into Bowdoin politics?JP: “Bowdoin politics?! Never heard that before.”

HC: You ran for office! Politics is implied heavily…JP: “There’s a negative connotation with “politics,” but it sounds so right when you put “Bowdoin” in front of it… I mean, for me, the opportunity to help lead people, or to create unity in a class of people that I didn’t know a lot about [yet], was really special. We come here with certain values and ideals that make us love the place, and then to have the opportunity to work with and to work for 2017, the class that I’ll be forever a part of, was something I didn’t want to pass up. But honestly, the success of that campaign had a lot to do with my roommates who invested a significant amount of time: Greg Koziol, Bobby Choi, Michael Andrew Thaibinh, and Stephen Kelly. AND we had extended roommates, I must admit. Next door, Annie Glenn, Amanda Milloy, and Phoebe Smukler… Remember the banners? I did not put up the banners. They put up the banners while I was out doing People’s Pearson common room chats.”

HC: They gave quite the first impression. I remember coming back to my dorm one night and seeing this giant banner hanging out of the fourth story windows and thinking, “Wow, this guy is serious! He wants this!”JP: “It was the People’s Pearson campaign team! We made the banners online and got them shipped. [After my talk] I came home that night and I was beat. I walked in the room and they were like, “Hey, did you see the banner?” I was like, “No!” And we walked back outside. But when I went back out there and saw them, it was really emotional. I cried. I never cry. What I love about it here is that investment, that people believe in something that’s larger than you. Campaigning, talking to people, it’s really about trying to hone in on something with tangible results, the ideals that we’re working for. So to see the people latch onto that belief with you and invest the time in putting the banners up, or to invite you in for tea, coffee, cupcakes… It’s special! I love that. To get in Bowdoin politics, my motivation was the people I met every day.”

HC: Do you think you’ve left your mark on Bowdoin in any way?JP: “I don’t think so. I think we’ve still got some time and a-ways to go.”

HC: No notable achievements in your year as president?JP: “You’ve got to ask [the class of] 2017.”

HC: You’re part of 2017!JP: “You have to ask the people who elected me, beyond myself. I think we did some good work. I think we did some good events. I think we could have done even more. We elected a great team of people. Class council last year, class council this year, has some of those people on it. It was a dynamic team.”

HC: So since your notable first year, starting with a splash, what have you moved on to?JP: “So this year I’m Vice President for Student Affairs, BSG General Assembly, so I’m on the Executive Committee. I guess my main goal is to find ways to improve Bowdoin’s campus. Since October, we’ve started a few initiatives that are getting started now, such as the Good Ideas Fund. It’s existed for a few years but hasn’t really been utilized by many students. The way the program works is that you and your friends are having lunch, and you say, “Oh, we should have this karaoke night for charity.” It’s not a club, it’s not a huge organization, it’s an event that you’re interested in starting. Then you come to me and my committee and the BSG, and you’re like, “Here’s my good idea and it costs $200.” We have funding available to help sponsor those types of ideas. They do range quite a bit. We have a lecture series coming out with Maine speakers and Sunday, we have a town hall. First of its kind. I’m a little nervous, not going to lie, because maybe there will only be three people, and then maybe there are thirty. So with the town hall, we’re trying to get the pulse and voice of campus – issues that are important to everyone and that they’d like the BSG to address because we’re kind of a mouthpiece for the students. Policies and programs that we can create to make more unity and solidarity on our campus are what we’re looking for, but [which might] also foster more conversations that introduce a little level of discomfort. Like recently with the mental health awareness [talk], these conversations aren’t the easiest to have, but if we can be supportive of that, that’s what we’re looking to do. For class council, we did a lot more events, which I really enjoyed, [but now] we’re helping other people to plan their events, which is also a unique perspective. My committee’s going to start a couple programs like the first-year game night with Gelato Fiasco. You can’t beat that. We want to create some of these events or activities that bring more of the campus together. We’re making progress, but we’ve got work to do.”

HC: So, academically, the sophomore class just passed the momentous deadline of declaring your major. What did you declare?JP: “It’s Government and Legal Studies.”

HC: What do you want to do with that?JP: “I want to do it all! Government touches everything, right? I’m not sure what exactly I want to do just yet. I want to go to law school, I believe. [I] may go into academia. Whatever it is, I just want to do something that will help make this world a little better of a place. I rule out no options of what’s next or what’s possible. I’m open to everything.”

HC: Are you hoping to go back home after college and do things there, or are you preparing to roam the world?JP: “I think we’re going to do a little roaming first.”

HC: Anywhere particular in mind?JP: “I’d like to use some of my German, so I’m going to visit Europe for a little while. I was in Nicaragua this past summer for a little while interning.”

HC: What were you doing?JP: “Teaching English, teaching courses in microfinance, teaching classes in business administration for people who had microfinance loans.”

HC: What level of education was it?JP: “It was trying to help [a business] be more profitable and [getting] child sponsorship to get people to contribute to these students. It was really interesting because after doing work in Nicaragua and going back to Memphis and doing my summer work there, I saw a lot of similarities in the struggles that people were facing. It was enlightening in a way about the issues of poverty that people face.”

HC: So did you always know that you wanted to go into politics? Was that your dream as a child?JP: “Going into Bowdoin politics, yeah. I told my mom when I was three, “Bowdoin politics.””

HC: Polar bear from the start.JP: “Exactly. It’s my spirit animal.”

HC: When you were a kid, what was your dream job? Where did you think you’d be?JP: “Okay, I’ll be honest. When I was a kid, I had three. And the only reason that I know I had three was that in kindergarten we made a booklet of the jobs that we want. I wanted to be an astronaut, a fireman, or a school bus driver.”

HC: Why a school bus driver?JP: “I don’t really know. We didn’t even ride the bus, but I think at some point I heard that my grandmother was a bus driver, and my grandmother was like my favorite person in the whole wide world, and so I was like, “I can do that.” I probably would have been a doctor, had I known that my other grandmother was an RN, had I known that was an option.”

HC: Tell me a little bit about your grandmother.JP: “Luckily I had two. My paternal grandmother I grew up with until I was about five or six. She could cook so well. Everyone says their grandmother was the best chef. My grandmother was the best chef. She was a sweet lady who was always honest, sweet, kind, and loving. And so dedicated. That’s something I learned about both of my grandparents when I was older, about dedication. That’s something they had to their families that I just didn’t understand. As you get older, you start learning things, and as they got older, they started learning things. They really sacrificed a lot for their five, six kids, respectively. She was a great cook, and my other grandmother taught me how to hug. I can feel her hugs still. You’ve got to hug [people]. My grandmother taught me how to hug; my other grandmother taught me how to eat well; and they both taught me how to love. I miss them.”

HC: The all-important question, I saved for last. The suits. Everyone knows you for your suits. You always wear a suit. Where does that impetus come from?JP: “It started in third grade. We had to wear uniforms in my school, and to be different, I wore dress shoes with my uniform. Most kids wore tennis shoes, but I wasn’t a big fan of tennis shoes. This then developed into button down shirts. I was like, “Okay, I like this. I’m still in uniform, but it’s different.” When we moved to Virginia, it escalated a little bit. In middle school, my parents bought me my first suit because, believe it or not, I was running for vice president. I got the suit, and I started wearing all my dad’s ties. When the school yearbook wanted it to be featured, they asked, “Why do you do it?” And at that point, it was because, why fit in when you can stand out? And as I’ve grown older, it’s developed into something more. I enjoy it, and they have a different purpose. In high school, when I went back to Memphis, I went back to public high school in the inner city. Dressing up was to show the students who never saw people in their families or could ever see themselves dressing up in a suit and tie. When I came to college, a gentleman from my church purchased me a lot of dress clothes. He was like, “Go and do well.” [About half] of my clothes now are things that I’ve accumulated and brought back from home, but there’s another half from a guy who invested in me. I do it because it feels good. I find it’s like my fun thing, but it’s also a memory of people who care, like this guy, he really did invest in [me] in a unique way, outside of just the knowledge he had been giving me over the past three or four years.”

HC: Any final words that you feel are essential to understanding Justin J Dot Pearson? Anything I missed?JP: “You should talk to me. To get to know me, let’s talk, because I love talking! I love getting to know people, but I’d like to get to know people in an even more special way. I say hi to a lot of people, but I’d love to say, “Okay, what’s your favorite color? Favorite movie? Siblings?” And I’d love to say to people, “How’s your family doing?” and actually be asking because we [would have] talked about their grandma. So, to get to know the essence of Justin Pearson, just… Maybe not even talk to me. Maybe it’s start talking to people that you don’t know so well, and in doing that, you’re getting to understand me. That’s way more special than talking to me. I think I’m an okay guy, but the only reason I’m an okay guy is because I’m surrounded by people who can start their own tea shops, and who control Masque & Gown, and I’m surrounded by greatness, and when you’re surrounded by it, you [ask,] “How can I be a part of that?” And that goes to why you run for anything. I want to help be part of this Bowdoin greatness which we all invest in in our own ways. Not just your Bowdoin politics, or your athleticism, or your Board Game Club-ness… We all have an investment into Bowdoin, and it creates this community, a solidarity, a family of people. We are Bowdoin. That’s my whole thing in campaigning, that was my thing. We are Bowdoin. We are all individual pieces, but combined, we create this amazing community of awesomeness.”