Navy Veteran Charts Course for Law School
Ryan Pearson Says Skills Learned at Academy, in Service Prepared Him for UVA
In his five-year stint in the Navy, Ryan Pearson had to earn qualifications as a ship driver, a combat systems officer and an engineering division officer.
“You’re always studying, you're always learning, you’re always bettering yourself,” he said.
Pearson, who climbed to the role of lieutenant, believes that initiative will pay off again this month as he starts classes at the University of Virginia School of Law.
The Richmond, Virginia, native earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2019 from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was captain of the varsity men’s basketball team.
Pearson said education was prioritized in his house growing up. His mother is an assistant commissioner at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and his father owns and manages the family’s funeral home business.
His parents told him, “‘If you don’t take care of your work in the classroom, you won’t be able to play sports.’ So that was high motivation for me,” Pearson said. “They also have ensured that my faith in God remains the pinnacle of my core values.”
Pearson said he was interested in attending an institution such as a service academy not only to grow as an athlete and a student, but as a person, so that he could take what he learned and apply it anywhere he went.
“Confidence is bred through competence, so I wanted to make myself as competent as possible, and I thought that going to the Naval Academy, being able to play Division I basketball, going to a leadership institution all coupled together just made for a great opportunity for my future,” he said.
During his first tour of duty, Pearson served as the main propulsion officer and then assistant chief engineer aboard the USS San Antonio, for which he received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
Although Pearson did not have a background in engineering, he said he embraced the challenge and enjoyed his roles aboard the ship, working on diesel platforms, managing personnel and helping maintain equipment.
“My goal for picking my second tour was to try to do something that was completely different from that and see if I enjoyed that, and I had the same experience,” he said.
He was promoted to lieutenant in 2023 and named the USS Leyte Gulf’s anti-submarine warfare officer. On a typical day in port, Pearson assigned work orders and other duties to his division of roughly 15 sailors while he did administrative tasks, spot-checked maintenance jobs, managed shifts and held meetings with contractors.
When the ship was at sea, Pearson would stand watch for two three-hour rotations per day, either serving as an officer of the deck, reporting directly to the commanding officer on the safety and navigation of the ship, or serving as the surface warfare lead, who manages and oversees weapons and helps report on the ship’s safety.
“I learned some new systems, got to deal with some different enlisted rates within the Navy and different personalities, but all the same, we were just one team working toward the same objective and goal,” he said. “I found that to be very fulfilling. ... I like to learn and challenge myself in different ways.”
As an officer supporting his sailors, Pearson said he started thinking about going to law school when he realized he couldn’t help them with questions about the law.
When he began researching where to begin his legal studies, he found UVA’s academics, faculty and reputation for camaraderie appealing. Though the Law School is competitive, it “wasn’t the type of place where it’s people stepping on each other,” he said. Pearson plans to use his degree to go into sports and entertainment law or transactional law.
“The opportunities that are afforded to UVA graduates cannot be overstated, but all in all, it was just the environment that really attracted me to UVA,” he said.
Pearson said he appreciated that his military service offered him a chance to grow into becoming a leader early in his career, and is now ready for new responsibilities.
“Upon commissioning, I was 22 years old, and as soon as I got to my first ship, I was the person in charge, and that came with a lot of growing pains, and I had to practice a lot of humility,” Pearson said. “But when responsibility is higher, it breeds that competitive edge to better yourself.”
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Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.
