After a 25-year career in technology and business consulting, Scott Pierce has to pick a senior capstone topic. One idea he’s considering involves opportunity zones, connecting the research project with his professional experience in small business development.

Pierce, who left Birmingham-Southern College in 1994 for a full-time job, has returned to the Hilltop to complete his degree in economics. Simultaneously, he’s a partner at the innovation consulting firm Two Ravens and an active member of many business and community organizations in Birmingham.

“The decision to come back was less about what’s in it for me and more about completion,” Pierce says. “I have the flexibility in my career, I have the finances, and I have the will and drive to do it.”

When Pierce first came to BSC, he entered as a computer science major but soon switched to economics, realizing he loved the method of thought involved. He later began working at Compass Bank (now BBVA) every night as a full-time student, which led him to leave BSC and build a career in technology.

Pierce spent 15 years in the field before transitioning into management. He started the technology consulting firm 45,000 Feet in 2013 and launched Two Ravens in 2018, which focuses on business solutions. In the progression of his career, Pierce has seen how his BSC education informed his thinking.

“Economics at ’Southern helped me apply that kind of thinking to multiple disciplines. I could think about writing software from an economic standpoint, finding my marginal productivity,” he says.

Building his career in Birmingham led Pierce to a wide range of involvement in the city. Alongside his companies, he serves on the mayor’s small business council, leads as a coach at Rev Birmingham’s workshop for new businesses, and performs with the Birmingham Improv Theatre, to name a few roles.

“Sometime in the early 2000s, I fell in love with the city,” Pierce says. “We have so much that we can do here that I want to be a part of. If you really want to, you can be a part of things here. It’s easy to get engaged in this city.”

One of his best introductions to the city during his time at BSC was when he delivered pizzas. Pierce had to learn Birmingham by its streets and neighborhoods, getting far outside of BSC’s campus. Now, he has connections across the city, and he’s seen the city boom along with the businesses he’s helped launch and grow.

In the words of a tech consultant, Pierce explains that a strong network is one with redundancies. The more links you have, the better your community will work.

“You want a good one-on-one connection, but you need a strong overall network too. As citizens, it’s important that we build connections with different neighborhoods, groups, mindsets, businesses, and industries,” he says.

In coming back to BSC, Pierce also sees the value in diverse connections within his education. His first class since 1994 was an economics course last spring, followed by a creative writing class this summer. His BSC classes have always provided him with a wide range of knowledge, from sciences to literature to world religions.

The rich liberal arts tradition was a deciding reason he chose BSC and moved into New Men’s 30 years ago, and it has not changed in his current classes, which he will finish up in the spring.

“I had this thought when I first came here that I can always make time to learn the bits and pieces of a field, but to learn the breadth of a liberal arts tradition is incredibly powerful.”