Pam Patterson has worked in public education for more than 45 years. She graduated
from high school in Birmingham, and always knew she wanted to be a teacher. She attended
the University of Alabama at Birmingham for her undergraduate degree, the University
of Alabama for graduate school, and earned additional certifications in education
at the University of South Alabama. She has worked in the USA College of Education
and Professional Studies for the past 14 years.
鈥淲e moved to Mobile about 30 years ago, and we had two boys,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淲e
had season tickets to South basketball games while they were growing up, and we鈥檝e
immersed ourselves in the community ever since.鈥�
The Pattersons have been married for more than 45 years.
鈥淲e kind of hit it off on a Friday night, had a little Fourth of July at the lake
on the following Monday and began dating,鈥� said Eric Patterson, Pam鈥檚 husband. 鈥淧am
was in a hurry to get married and get through school. She finished high school at
Briarwood, earned her degree from UAB, and at the age of 19, she was back at Briarwood
teaching.鈥�
鈥淚 figured I better hurry so I could grab him,鈥� Pam said.
The Patterson family has a true passion for giving back to their community, wherever
they may be.
Eric worked for Alabama Power Company in Birmingham for four years, transferred to
northwest Alabama, then moved to Tuscaloosa and lived there for a number of years
before moving to Mobile in 1989.
鈥淚 have been blessed by a great company,鈥� said Eric, who served as a division manager.
鈥淎labama Power is involved in the community, period. It鈥檚 been a blessing that I've
had a company that encouraged us to be engaged and involved in the community. And
as I say, it's because of Alabama Power that we do and get engaged in so many ways.鈥�
Pam鈥檚 career was not dependent on staying in one particular place, and she was able
to move to continue her passion for teaching, while supporting her husband鈥檚 career.
鈥淚 tell my students, 鈥業 was made to be a kindergarten teacher,鈥欌�� Pam said. 鈥淚 feel
just as strongly as people are called to the ministry that I was called to teaching.
And that path just worked because I could move with Eric very easily when he moved
and fall back into teaching.鈥�
When the Pattersons moved to Mobile, Pam started working at Morningside Elementary,
which served a very diverse population of students, as most of her career has been
in diverse schools.
鈥淚 taught there for 15 years, and during that time of teaching, I also was on various
committees,鈥� Pam said. 鈥淚 worked with our school in developing our title one project
and did training for Mobile County school teachers. I retired in 2004 and started
working with the New Teacher Academy with Mobile County Public Schools. In 2006, I
accepted a position at South supervising student teachers, and in 2012, I started
working in the Office of Field Services.鈥�
Eric has served on the USA College of Education and Professional Studies Advisory
Council since 2016 and currently serves as the advisory chair. In 2018, he made a
donation to South to create the 鈥淧am Lynne Patterson Endowed Scholarship in Education.鈥�
鈥淏eing part of the advisory council has deepened that appreciation and love for giving,鈥�
Eric said. 鈥淓verything we're talking about right now starts with Mr. Abe Mitchell
and his willingness to help match giving toward undergraduate scholarships for the
University. Everything that we're talking about centers around Mr. Mitchell, and I
just can't say enough to thank him for what he's done to make things like we were
able to do possible because of his generosity.鈥�
Eric surprised his wife with the creation of the scholarship. He hopes the scholarship
will honor Pam鈥檚 work and dedication to the field of education.
鈥淧am knew nothing about it, and I didn鈥檛 want her to be involved in it at all,鈥� Eric
said. 鈥淚 wanted to find some way to honor this lady. I mean, as I said before, she
could have made millions of dollars doing other things. She's absolutely brilliant.
She was valedictorian at Briarwood High School.鈥�
鈥淲hen I told her about it, the first thing she did was start crying and crying. That
was reward enough right then and there to know that it meant a lot to her, and it
did because of all that she's invested in her life. It was a way to honor her and
honor all the things she's done. As I say, if she could have, she would have been
extremely successful in anything else in the world and made a whole lot more money.
But, this is something that she loved and it was important to her.鈥�
The Pattersons know how difficult it is financially for undergraduate education students
in their last semester of college. While completing student teaching in schools, it鈥檚
difficult for students to work.
鈥淎nd we do have a number of back-to-school students and a lot of them need to work
because they have families, so I wanted our scholarship to be able to help students
with tuition in their last semester,鈥� Pam said. 鈥淚'm just so thrilled that someone
can benefit from this, because I was on an academic scholarship in college and I know.
We were married while I was in college, and it was a Godsend for us. I'm just thrilled
that we can do that for someone else. Again, paying it forward.鈥�
Eric鈥檚 involvement in education has not only stemmed from his wife's involvement with
education, but also his time with Alabama Power. While working with the company in
Mobile, Eric also worked with the Mobile Area Education Foundation.
鈥淲e have supported schools throughout my career in various places throughout the state,鈥�
Patterson said. 鈥淪o, as I've moved around, I have been involved with school systems
because of Alabama Power鈥檚 encouragement and our personal belief in being involved
with schools.鈥�
The Pattersons have also supported Distinguished Young Women. Eric served as president
of the board for two years and Pam served as executive director of the organization
for three years.
鈥淭he primary focus of Distinguished Young Women is to provide scholarships for young
women to attend colleges and universities across the country,鈥� Pam said. 鈥淒istinguished
Young Women is such a beneficiary of University of South Alabama scholarships. More
than 25 young women from various states have attended South on scholarships received
through this program.鈥�
鈥淲e've been very heavily involved with that organization and just again, another one
of those benefits of education and another of those things that I love about South
Alabama, because Eric and I love Distinguished Young Women. South鈥檚 involvement has
just been a model for many universities in the state.鈥�
Eric is still involved in fundraising for Distinguished Young Women and serves as
the chairman of the scholarship foundation. The two are very active members at their
church, and Eric coached and served on the board for Cottage Hill Little League. He
also helped with the establishment of the first senior center in Mobile, previously
named Mary Abbie Berg Senior Center, with Arlene Mitchell in 1990.
鈥淥ur boys and their children have learned some things also about passing it on,鈥� Eric
said. 鈥淎nd everything about me is centered around my faith and the Lord has blessed
me way beyond anything I could have ever imagined with family and everything else.
And so here's another way to try to help somebody else along the way, to pass along
some of the good things that we've been blessed with.鈥�
The Patterson family has truly embraced the University of South Alabama during their
time in Mobile.
鈥淭he University has been good to us,鈥� Eric said. 鈥淲e enjoy the time we spend with
folks from the University and, you know, we're just very grateful for what the University
means to Alabama as well as the Mobile area. And, I can't wait for football season!鈥�
Eric Patterson has served on the USA College of Education and Professional Studies
Advisory Council since 2016 and currently serves as the advisory chair. In 2018, he
made a donation to South to create the 鈥淧am Lynne Patterson Endowed Scholarship in
Education" in honor of his wife, who has worked in public education for more than
45 years. 鈥淲hen I told her about it, the first thing she did was start crying and
crying. That was reward enough right then and there to know that it meant a lot to
her, and it did because of all that she's invested in her life. It was a way to honor
her and honor all the things she's done. As I say, if she could have, she would have
been extremely successful in anything else in the world and made a whole lot more
money. But, this is something that she loved and it was important to her.鈥�