From Orcas High School graduate to tenured professor at Harvard University shows that the foundation students achieve on Orcas, along with perseverance, can help students achieve their dreams.

Enrolling in the public school in the fourth grade, Ann Pearson graduated in the high school class of 1988. She enrolled at Oberlin College and received her degree in chemistry with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1992.

Two years later, following a brief time in the Peace Corps, she enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and completed her PhD and a year of postdoctoral work in a Joint Program with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

After joining the Harvard faculty, Pearson was awarded a five-year fellowship from the Packard Foundation, which annually recognizes about 15 top young scientists, mathematicians, and engineers in the country.

At Harvard, she established the Pearson Lab, which is known for its advances in biogeochemistry with an emphasis on greater understanding about isotopic specific organic biomarkers and ancient climates and microbial life. Pearson assisted Harvard to develop major undergraduate curriculum changes. Her department, Earth and Planetary Sciences, has been recognized by Harvard seniors as the best at the university.

In September, Pearson will take a one-year sabbatical at The Radcliff Institute For Advanced Study.