Hannah Pearson '09: Hatching Her Best Plan

Hannah Pearson (Moses Brown, '09) has an unusual job: The Roger Williams University graduate is the hatchery manager at Island Creek Oysters, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. There, she harvests wild oysters—a process that requires patience. "It takes two years before we can legally sell them," she says.

Pearson majored in marine biology at Roger Williams, which is where she fell in love with working with shellfish. "I started working at the shellfish hatchery on campus, and worked there through my senior year," she says. "I love that you can grow miniature shellfish. There are these tiny baby oysters—some as small as the tip of a pencil." 

Pearson credits her Moses Brown teachers for first inspiring her to delve into her hatchery vocation. "My advisor, Joyce Hooley-Bartlett was a great mentor," Pearson says. "I'd see her in the morning, and always just felt like she cared about me getting what I wanted out of school. She helped me choose the right classes, and really had an impact on my MB experience. She led me into the science classes, and encouraged me to start thinking about what I wanted to do."

"In my junior and senior years, I took marine biology with Eric Aaronian," Pearson adds. "And classes with Amy Newbold were so much fun."

"Amy and Eric delivered science in such a fun way, and I remember just thinking, 'that's what I want to do,' " Pearson adds. "All the MB teachers were like that."

Pearson recently crossed paths with Newbold, and she still stays in close touch with MB classmate, Laura Goforth." "She's been my best friend since seventh grade," she says. 

Pearson credits Moses Brown and the Quaker values she learned at school with her success and happiness. "There's a lot of competition our there," she says. "And at MB, competition was limited. There were no cheerleaders. No prom king and queen. It's something I didn't realize the value of until adult life."

"There's a difference between striving to be the best, and actually being your best," she adds. "Moses Brown helped me understand that." 

By Lara Rosenbaum, '91