Alumna Cheyenne Pearson talks about how the skills she learned in History have shaped her career.
Cheyenne Pearson has wanted to be a lawyer since taking a government class during her senior year of high school in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was born and raised. “I liked learning about laws and the government and how they affect people’s lives,” Pearson recalls. But “I have always loved and been intrigued by history,” so majoring in that subject at UTC was “a no brainer.” Many students don’t realize that a lot of lawyers studied history in college, and that about 85 percent of history majors pursue career paths other than teaching or working in libraries or museums.
To complement to her history major at UTC, Pearson chose to minor in Africana Studies, a program that “offers students an interdisciplinary perspective on African, American, and Afro-Latin American history, culture, literature, and politics.” “I believe knowing history is essential to understanding how and why the world is the way it is today on so many levels – socially, economically, politically, racially, etc.,” Cheyenne reflected. “Also growing up in the South and being Black myself, it was personal for me to learn Africana history and how many things in today’s world are directly related to what happened in the past. I think history is also able to help communities continue to grow and advance for the better.”
During her time in Chattanooga, Pearson got involved with the History Club, joined the history honor society Phi Alpha Theta, and completed an internship with Duncan, Hatcher, Holland & Fleenor law firm. Two of Cheyenne’s favorite classes at UTC were both taught by Dr. Susan Eckelmann, an expert in the history of the modern United States, children and youth, and American race relations. In “United States, Race, and Childhood,” Pearson and her classmates created a children’s book that “highlighted important facts about race in a way that it could be taught to children.” The other course was on “The Modern Civil Rights Movement,” and included research in UTC’s Special Collections archives to create an exhibit highlighting white resistance to the civil rights movement here in Chattanooga.
After graduating with her BA in History in 2019, Cheyenne attended St. Thomas University College of Law in Miami, Florida, where she earned her JD in 2022. She now is an Associate at Fischetti Law Group in Boynton Beach, Florida, where she practices personal injury law and visits the beach as often as possible. Not at all surprising for a history major and Africana Studies minor, she also enjoys reading.
Asked how she has utilized her experiences and skills developed through the study of history at UTC to her post-graduate life and professional career as a lawyer, Pearson responded,
As a practicing attorney in both personal injury and estate planning, my foundation as a history major at UTC has been more valuable than I ever could have imagined. Studying history taught me to analyze different and sometimes difficult situations, question sources, and be intentional in my research – all skills that are essential to what I do every day when dealing with clients. My time at UTC also helped shape my identity as an advocate, especially for the Black community. I served as the Historian on the board of the Black Law Students Association during law school and it allowed me to continue that work by uplifting stories, preserving narratives, and learning about monumental cases and case law that influence policies today. So I feel that that role really reinforced the importance of perspective and voice, both of which are essential in advocating for justice today. Studying history helped shape my ability to understand people and systems and to think deeply about the past and how it shapes the present. To learn more about majoring in history at UTC or how studying the past can prepare you for the legal profession, contact our Department Head Dr. Kira Robison at Kira-Robison@utc.edu or our Pre-Law Advisor Dr. Michael Samuel at Michael-Samuel@utc.edu.