Bowdoin in the House

TWO ALUMNI who have attracted a lot of attention recently for leadership in their respective fields found themselves in the White House on the same day.

Justin J. Pearson ’17, one of the “Tennessee three” expelled from the Tennessee State House over a gun control protest and later reinstated, and Matthew Bernstein ’13, Maine’s 2023 Teacher of the Year, both spent time at the White House on Monday, April 24, 2023, although in separate meetings.

Just weeks after their historic expulsion sparked national outrage, Pearson and fellow Tennessee House representatives Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson met in the Oval Office with President Biden and Vice President Harris to discuss how to move gun reform legislation forward.

“You’re standing up for our kids; you’re standing up for our communities,” said President Biden during their meeting.

That same day, Bernstein, a ninth-grade humanities and social studies teacher at Casco Bay High School in Portland, joined other state Teachers of the Year for a ceremony during which they were honored by President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Bernstein, who participated in the Bowdoin Teacher Scholars program, was named Maine’s Teacher of the Year in October 2022.