By Kellie Addie (English ’24)
Erika Pertell (English ‘13) uses her degree in English, Literature, and Creative Writing to inspire a passion for reading in the minds of children at the High Point Academy of Spartanburg.
While she did not always want to teach, she has found her true calling in teaching. Being inspired by her fourth-grade teacher, she is now showing children how to become better readers.
She credits her degree in English with helping her students “thrive in their writing skills and use of vocabulary.”
Pertell has loved writing since elementary school. She recalls her fourth-grade teacher giving an assignment that introduced creative writing. She was allowed to write a paper about what students thought the future would be like. Pertell enjoyed “the freedom of writing anything I wanted,” and has not stopped since.
Her love for creative writing led her to be named one of the finalists for the South Carolina First Novel Prize (now called the South Carolina Novel Series) sponsored by the South Carolina Arts Commission, the South Carolina State Library and South Carolina Humanities. She was named a finalist, alongside Dr. Thomas McConnell, a former USC Upstate professor, whom she mentions as being her mentor in her college career. She thought it was an honor to be a finalist beside someone who always pushed her to do her best. Pertell was the only woman and only African American named as a finalist that year.
During her time at USC Upstate, Pertell was a part of Zeta Phi Beta. Being in the sorority impacted her education by inspiring her to commit to scholarship and service, which are the principles of Zeta Phi Beta. Today, she has applied these principles to her teaching. She motivates her students to always help others, globally and locally. She finds value in exposing her students to “something that they can do that’s not just about them, that it is about other people.”
Pertell advises other English majors at USC Upstate to know “it’s not just about reading and writing things, but it can lead you to many more possibilities and opportunities.” She is grateful for all the skills she learned in her English degree at USC Upstate that help her in her career today.
During her free time, Pertell enjoys spending her time with her husband and two children. To relax she loves to be in her loft library built by her husband. Her loft library gives off vibes of “the woods in a log cabin but also at Hogwarts.” She enjoys reading horror books and binge-watching Netflix.
Currently, Pertell is trying to publish her short story, “Bait,” She is also working on another short story about “mental disorders that surround dissociation.” It is clear that her degree at USC Upstate has helped her in her many accomplishments.