Dr. Sandeep Mazumder
At the beginning of the acclaimed novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 8-year-old Lucy Pevensie stumbles upon a most shocking discovery.
While exploring a house in the English countryside, the young girl enters a humble piece of furniture that is in fact a portal to a different world, Narnia. Walking through this magical gateway, her life is forever changed. When she returns to reality after what feels like hours, Lucy shouts, “I’m here! Come and see what I’ve found!”
This moment has always resonated with me. I know the feeling of finding a treasure and wanting to share it with anyone and everyone who will listen. Visiting Berry for the first time in the fall of 2024, I felt a small sense of what Lucy must have experienced. Who would imagine that tucked in the hills of Northwest Georgia, some 45 minutes off Interstate 75, there would be a place like Berry?
Though I have not lived in the United Kingdom or walked the halls of Cambridge for many years, I still smile every time I hear students reference British literature in relation to Berry. Whether calling the Ford Buildings “Hogwarts” or referring to campus as “Narnia,” it is more than a nod to architecture or landscape. I believe students are attempting to express the sense of transformation they feel at Berry. They recognize something rare and meaningful is happening here.
It is for this reason that I cannot stop talking about raising our national profile. This priority is less about prestige than drawing attention to the uniqueness of Berry. Like Lucy and Narnia, I feel that we must implore others to “come and see” what we have found.
Berry deserves more attention and recognition, due in no small measure to the foundation laid by those who have invested time, energy and money here. With gratitude, we can elevate our standing by embracing Berry’s strengths while also considering why such renown is worth the effort. Here are some of the reasons I believe it matters:
Because it is the heart of the mission.
Berry exists to educate students – head, heart and hands – and to prepare them not just for careers but for lives of integrity and service. If this is happening, which it certainly is, then we want our graduates to be the ones in their communities and workplaces who make others pause and ask, “Now, where did you go to college?” To “Be Berry” doesn’t end when a student walks across the commencement stage or drives out the Gate of Opportunity. It’s a life posture.
In my short time here, I have been fascinated by the number of students who have told me their recruitment to Berry involved a person of significant respect in their lives who happened to be an alum. Some were relatives or family friends, others high school mentors. What a powerful example of the mission in action for our alumni to be the reason current and future students are drawn to our school. The takeaway is undeniable: Those who meet Berry people want to experience this place for themselves.
Raising the national profile is in some ways an extension of this idea. It’s a sincere belief in the power of what we are doing and a commitment to share this belief with the world. By living in a way that reflects Martha Berry’s call to leave the world a better place than we found it, we beckon the world to take notice.
Because ambition is a call to faithfulness.
Beyond staying true to our mission, aiming high is one of Berry’s core values. Martha Berry urged students to do their best regardless of circumstances, even in the smallest of tasks. I love that right in the middle of main campus Green Hall’s facade boldly declares: “Whether at work or at play do your best.”
“Aim high” was among the Berry values articulated by the Board of Trustees when reaffirming our mission statement in 2024, a fitting nod to the significant progress made under the leadership of Steve Briggs, Scott Colley, Gloria Shatto, John Bertrand and many others in previous decades. They positioned Berry for this moment. Now it is time for us to go further. In fact, we owe it to them and to our students to do so.
This perspective calls us to steward our heritage well, sharing Berry with others even as we seek to strengthen it. Students, faculty and staff may not be adding brick and mortar to the campus in the way of their forebears, but pursuing excellence in their respective fields and areas of expertise reflects a commitment to the spirit of faithfulness that has been foundational to our school’s distinct culture.
I would go even further to challenge the Berry community by suggesting that there is no such thing as holding still. If other institutions keep moving forward, and we don’t rise to the challenge, we will fall behind. As Vikings, we must stay the course and keep rowing. If we are not getting better at what we do, we inevitably move backwards. In the words of Martha Berry, “The pursuit of the difficult makes us strong.”
Having attended or held academic roles at four other institutions, I say with confidence that the inspiration this community draws from its founding legacy is unparalleled. And the more I learn about our Martha Berry, the more I am fascinated by her persistence and faithfulness to her call. Historians write that after turning a small Sunday school into a day school, she was determined to build dormitories to have a sufficient impact on the children she was educating. There was no holding still.
She also did not change course without intention. Instead, she seemed to be ever discerning the need and considering how the pursuit of excellence might direct her steps. Ambition does not always come from a desire to be No. 1 or “top dog.” Sometimes, it is manifest in stewarding the skills and resources we have to the very best of our ability. For me, this is living out a faith-calling to, in whatever I am doing, “Work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).
Because being a diamond in the rough isn’t enough.
In the landscape of higher education today, it doesn’t make sense to keep Berry to ourselves.
If we believe we offer a transformational opportunity for students and that the Berry Journey model, LifeWorks Program and Good Neighbor Culture are truly noteworthy, then we should not be shy about sharing our vision. I’m describing confidence rooted in conviction rather than comparison. What we offer the world is different and worthy of notice because it has the ability to change lives for the better. Understanding this, we should go forth boldly seeking not to glorify ourselves but to empower others
What we offer the world is different
and worthy of notice because it has the
ability to change lives for the better.
I’m reminded that one of Lucy’s first encounters in Narnia was with a brilliant lamppost, its warm glow piercing the dark, snowy forest. Light at its core is about visibility. Its mere presence has the potential to draw people and change the places it touches, providing direction and inspiration for others. Isn’t this the effect we want Berry to have on the world?
Like that lamppost, our work should shine brightly through the embodiment of our mission, the unique educational experience we offer and the graduates who go forth from this community. But imagine if Lucy had never shared Narnia with her siblings. They might never have seen the light nor the mythic realm that lay beyond. This is why the simple act of telling Berry stories matters.
Next steps
So, how do we continue to elevate the national profile? Right now, we are crafting a strategic plan that champions and reaffirms our commitment to Berry’s distinctive student experience. Excelling in this next chapter will take all of us – faculty who inspire curiosity, staff who create a culture of care, students who strive for excellence, alumni who extend Berry’s reach through influence and example, and friends who choose to become part of our extended family. Each of us is a steward of Berry’s future.
Intentionally spreading news of this place within your circles of influence is one way you can support broader efforts to let Berry shine. In the process, you will extend its promise to others. And when they have seen and experienced Berry for themselves, they too will echo Lucy’s call to “come and see.”
