My name is Derek Pearson, and I am standing at the edge of a future I have spent my life preparing for.

I have been accepted into Morehouse College, a place that has shaped generations of leaders who went on to serve, build, and change the world. For me, Morehouse is not just an opportunity. It is responsibility.

I am a graduated high school senior from Louisville, Kentucky with a 4.0 GPA in both my junior and senior year. I am the founder and president of my school’s Business Club, a dual credit and honors student, and I have completed over 1,600 hours of verified community service through leadership, tutoring, and civic engagement.

I have served as an Educational Justice tutor for younger students, a Kappa League Election Committee Chair, a Louisville Youth Philanthropy Council board member helping distribute over $7,000 in youth grants, and a member of the NAACP Louisville Youth Council and Black Youth Empowerment Network. I also served as CFO of a winning capstone team in the NABA ACAP program and recently earned a finance internship as I pursue a future in asset management and hedge funds.

At home, I help care for my mother. That is not a side detail in my life. It is part of my foundation. It has taught me what sacrifice looks like, and what it means to carry responsibility without complaint.

Now I am at a point where effort alone is not enough.

I need $50,000 to attend Morehouse College, covering tuition, housing, meal plans, and essential expenses. I need to raise these funds by July 15th to make enrollment possible.

I have always lived by one truth: closed mouths do not get fed. So I am speaking, even when it is difficult, and asking for help as I take a step of faith toward my future.

This is not a story about limitation. It is a story about what a young man does when he refuses to stop moving forward. I have lived with a speech impediment and stutter my entire life, and still I have learned to show up, speak anyway, and keep building when things were not easy.

What I am asking for is not charity. It is belief in potential that has already been proven through work, discipline, and service.

My goal is to build a career in finance, enter asset management and hedge funds, and eventually create opportunities for communities that have historically been left out of those spaces. I do not just want success for myself. I want to build access for others.

If you choose to support me, you are not just helping me attend college. You are investing in a future that is already committed to serving something larger than itself.

Thank you for reading, and for believing in what I am still becoming.