Welcome Ms. Pearson Smith

Notre Dame High School is pleased to welcome our new Theater Director, Ms. Pearson Smith.  Pearson Smith is from Ringgold, Georgia, where she developed a passion for theatre at a young age. She earned her B.A. in Theatre from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, concentrating in Education and Entrepreneurship, and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Management. During her time at UTC, she served as Vice President of the theatre honor society, worked as a marketing consultant for small businesses, and assisted the theatre education professor in research and writing open educational resources focused on social-emotional learning. She performed in multiple UTC productions while gaining experience behind the scenes in directing, design, and stage management. Pearson has taught theatre through Camp Broadway at the Tivoli Theatre and the Chattanooga Music Academy and has remained deeply engaged in community outreach. She interned with WTCI-PBS and a local victim advocacy center and volunteered with LIFT Youth Center to lead theatre workshops for students. As part of her undergraduate studies, she created The Wellness Stage, a theatre initiative designed for youth in foster care, using the arts to build emotional resilience and teach life skills. The project was selected as a finalist at the U.S. Nationals of the Hult Prize Student Entrepreneurship Competition. She is thrilled to join the Notre Dame community and looks forward to building a theatre program that empowers students and fosters creativity, confidence, and connection.