Born in Atlanta, Pauline Drake started her educational journey in the Spelman College Nursery School, and graduated from E. R. Carter Elementary School and Booker T. Washington High School. A commuter student during her first three years at Spelman, Pauline was an active participant in campus life. She was a member of the Glee Club, president of her sophomore class and of the student body during her senior year. An English major and secondary education and history minor, she was valedictorian of her graduating class.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in 1958, Pauline completed studies for her M.A. degree at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She began her public school career teaching first at John Adams High School and later at East Technical High School, where she chaired the English department.
She began working at Spelman in August of 1974. At its inception in the early 1980s, the Continuing Education Program offered non-credit courses for community residents. Later the program expanded to include Elderhostel, an international program for mature adults; summer institutes for college faculty; summer and after-school programs for youth; non-credit training for employees of various organizations; and the program that now bears her name, the Pauline E. Drake (PED) Program for mature women who are beginning or returning to college with the goal of earning a bachelor’s degree.