George Petersen’s childhood is straight out of a Charles Dickens’ novel: The son of an abusive drunkard, his mother secreted him away one night when he was four years old, and they began living like escaped convicts. Eventually, his mother couldn’t take their horrible lifestyle any longer and made a decision that would get them out of the shadows: she decided to get an education. It changed everything. Petersen dedicated his life to giving other underserved and disenfranchised people the same opportunity and is now the founding dean of Clemson University’s College of Education.
From the Judges
This story was moving and the writing is strong, with compelling language (active verbs, arresting descriptions, and action that forwards the narrative). The person featured is dynamic and plain-spoken. The impact of the mother on the son, and the son on his students (both when he taught high school and at Clemson, from the past, present and future) threads throughout the piece and provides narrative structure and cohesion.
