Michael McElveen, interim dean of students

At Berry, “we educate the head, heart, and hands — to inspire leaders of integrity who cultivate thriving communities;” this is our mission. You have undoubtedly heard the phrase educating the head, heart, and hands a few times by now. And rightfully so, this is foundational to Berry and stretches across every aspect of the Berry Community. Here, I want to highlight the second part of the mission. To inspire leaders of integrity who cultivate thriving communities, we, as members of the Berry Community, must strive to embody the characteristics of a thriving community. Individually, many aspects can be used to characterize a thriving student, such as academic performance, social engagement, quality relationships, high character, discovering meaning, and personal health. These aspects are multidimensional and interrelated.

Throughout your Berry Journey, you will experience periods of thriving in some areas and just surviving in others. That is normal. The beauty of being part of a thriving community is that support is readily available. Additionally, there are opportunities and a need for you to contribute.

As we start the semester, I encourage you to take time to prioritize your well-being through rest, recreation, and reflection. Secondly, embrace your responsibility to serve your community. With seemingly endless opportunities to get involved, I challenge you to seek depth in your involvement over breadth of involvement. Our impact on the community is often defined not by the number of things we do, but by how deeply we commit to the things that matter the most. You can achieve this by prioritizing quality over quantity, reflecting before committing, and being purposeful rather than busy.