There are moments in life when everything changes at once. Routines fall away. Plans are put on hold. The future becomes harder to picture. For Timothy Pearce, that moment came in 2017. What followed was a return to something that had always been part of him. He became a student again.
- Program
- Master of Business Administration and Associate Degree in Occupational Health and Safety
- Industry
- Aviation and Aerospace
- Current Location
- Barrie, ON
- Graduation Year
- 2023
Learning as a way of life
Education has been a constant that Timothy has returned to across decades, careers and chapters of his life.
He began his academic journey in the 1980s with a Bachelor of Science. From there, he served in the military, worked as a truck driver, spent years as an aircraft maintenance engineer and eventually found his way into teaching—a role that felt like a calling.
Through it all, one thing remained consistent: a curiosity about the world and a desire to keep learning.
“The more I took on and the more I accomplished, the better I felt. I’ve become addicted to that feeling. There’s something about learning that pushes you forward. It makes you want to keep going, to keep building on what you’ve already done.”
When everything changed
In the spring of 2017, Timothy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a five percent chance of survival.
He spent the summer in the hospital. His work stopped. Life, as he knew it, shifted in an instant. He found himself searching for something new.
“I’d gone through everything on the internet. I’d watched everything on Netflix. I was tired of social media. I wanted something else to occupy my mind.”
A focused recovery
In March of 2018, Timothy was accepted into the MBA in Human Resource Leadership program at the University of Fredericton. “I stumbled onto UFred, purely by accident. I was looking at other programs, but all the other programs wanted a GMAT, and I had no desire to go write an exam.”
The program gave Timothy structure. It gave him direction. “This became a purpose for me. It was something to get out of bed in the morning and do. It gave me something to focus my mind on.”
In a way that is difficult to explain but easy to feel, that focus changed Timothy’s perspective. “I wasn’t worried about survival. I was worried about the next paper. I was worried about the next assignment, the next course. That became what mattered in that moment.”
I’m a totally different person now than when I started. I’ve evolved.
What his studies looked like
The work itself required commitment. There were early mornings and late nights. But Timothy’s studies didn’t feel separate from his life. It felt like a continuation of it.
He leaned into the experience fully, engaging with the material, learning alongside people from across the country and around the world.
“You’re not just sitting there taking notes. You have to contribute. You’re working with some of the brightest minds, and that challenges you in a way that changes how you think.”
There was connection, too. Relationships formed through shared work and conversation—people who had never met in person, but who became part of each other’s journeys.
“I made a lot of connections at UFred, and I’m still in contact with them. That’s one of the most significant aspects: you join a community of learners, and it stays with you.”
A different way of thinking
What changed wasn’t just what Timothy knew, but also how he thought.
“I love the way that UFred taught me how to think, not what to think. It changes how you see the world. I look at things differently now than I did before.”
He was nominated for valedictorian, an honour that reflected his work and his contribution to the program. But the meaning of the experience runs deeper than recognition.
“It was transformational. It changed me from who I was to who I am. I’m a totally different person now than when I started. I’ve evolved.”
You’re working with some of the brightest minds, and that challenges you in a way that changes how you think.”
A lifelong student
Today, Timothy continues to study. Not because he has to, but because it is where he feels most engaged.
He is pursuing multiple programs at once: an associate degree in Occupational Health and Safety at the University of Fredericton, a law degree in England and a doctorate in education in the United States.
There is always another idea to explore, another question to follow, another way of seeing something he thought he understood.
Staying engaged through education
Timothy's MBA became a continuation of a life shaped by curiosity, growth and a desire to understand more.
“It gave me confidence to strive for more, to learn more. It changed me from the person that entered UFred to the person that exited UFred.”
Learning gives Timothy something steady to return to, again and again. Not to escape what’s happening, but to stay engaged with it—to keep thinking, questioning and moving forward.
