Pearl Seymour

Pearl Seymour, Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club

Anticipated Career Choice: Business/Social Work

“You couldn’t persuade me to stay away from the Club for anything in the world.”

Pearl was the youngest of five children raised in a multi-parent household where alcoholism and abuse was commonplace. Her parents addiction to alcohol would often create a volatile atmosphere. Pearl quickly developed the fortitude necessary for her to flourish in a tough environment.

After her mother suffered a massive stroke when she was 11, Pearl was forced to move to Florida to live with her sister for a short time. When she returned to Milwaukee, Pearl started cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and paying bills in addition to her routine of being a sixth grader. Pearl had to step up since her mother couldn’t function at her fullest. Pearl also rose to the occasion and became the emotional support system for her parents and siblings throughout a messy, ongoing custody battle. She quickly made Boys & Girls Clubs a huge part of her life, attending every day it was open. “I fell in love with the Pieper-Hillside Boys & Girls Club. I wish they were open seven days a week.”

The Clubs provided Pearl with role models, friendships, self-confidence and a family. It helped her focus on her education and career goals, which she remains determined to accomplish. She is an advocate for community service and prioritizing one’s family. She exemplifies leadership through her words, as well as her actions, netting her Sista Pride’s Sista of the Year award in 2007 because of her commitment to excellence. She believes in making each and every interaction with her peers a positive one and does not shy away from opportunities to impart words of wisdom to her peers.

Through all the adversity in her life, Pearl remains poised and driven. She made the decision to take the high road, viewing adversity as opportunity to build character. She refuses to allow her circumstances to define her future or her relationship with her family.