Boss, Mentor, Colleague, Sister, Friend . . . .

Pearl Williams

I first met Pearl Williams in the late 1990s at an Arizona TESOL conference held at Estrella Mountain Community College; Pearl was Chair of the Developmental Education Division at EMCC—and had held that position since the college began nearly 20 years previously.

I felt instantly comfortable with Pearl when I met her, but had no idea that I would, in 2001, leave my job at Arizona State University and begin working for and with her.

At EMCC, I felt respect for Pearl from my first day on campus. I was deeply impressed by her warmth, her teaching and administrative skills, and, most of all, by her grace and civility: she was (and is) always able to handle any situation calmly and with quiet competence and dignity. Later, we found that we had much in common—similar philosophies of life and of teaching, shared cultural backgrounds in the southern U.S., a love of art and music, a firm commitment to the acknowledgment and empowerment of minority cultures, a strong interest in technology-assisted learning, and much more. Over time, the respect that I had for Pearl took on other dimensions as well, and my admiration for her as an educator and very gracious human being grew and grew. She has been—and she continues to be— a boss, mentor, colleague, sister, and friend, and I will forever be grateful for the great gift of knowing her.