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Lora Pearlman Collier

Biography

Lora Pearlman considers the pursuit of knowledge to be "the most virtuous of all efforts."

Growing up with parents (each holding three degrees) in the close-knit community of Carbondale, Lora credits her family with instilling values, such as education and compassion. "As a physician's daughter, I watched my father heal and help children and adults who sometimes drove hours to see him, and I saw the joy he took in his work.I believe his enthusiasm was contagious."

As a volunteer in the children's center at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Lora saw "children come into the playroom cranky, mistrustful and with their eyes swollen from brain surgery." Then - as a result of interaction with caring people - the children are transformed with energy levels soaring. "They play harder, eat more, and likely heal faster."

She especially remembers one little boy with swollen eyes entering the hospital playroom. "Together we painted a Halloween picture, ate pepperoni pizza, and picked our Halloween stickers to wear.I was able to help the boy feel better, to forget his pain, the numbers on his IV, and focus on something as simple as a jack-o-lantern stencil. That feeling of elation, of making a difference, is the reason many of us choose to enter the health care profession."

Lora has been active in Student Affiliates for the American Chemical Society to show Baltimore's inner city students that "science is not just reading a textbook." Through presentations on "making slime to show chemical reactions" or "freezing food in liquid nitrogen," she gets kids excited about learning so they will continue their education beyond high school.

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