Taylor Tobin |
After spending a summer in rural Kenya teaching high school students, traveling to both China and Cambodia with the E-Scholars program and studying in Norwich, U.K. on a Fulbright grant, 2012 UP graduate Kurt Berning has returned to where he started at UP, and served as an RA for two years: Villa Maria Hall, as the newest hall director.
“I never thought that I would be coming back, especially as hall director, because the position was filled and it’s usually an all year thing,” Berning said. “It’s very rare for what happened to happen.”
Before the job offer, Berning was planning to leave for Nicaragua for a few years. However, after attending the Villa Man Auction last fall, it was apparent to him that Villa needed a change.
The community had undergone much confusion over the sudden and unexplained departure of their previous hall director, Danny Zimmerman.
“Talking to the guys there – the RAs, the residents, the people – I sensed that Villa was just a little off. This was two weeks after it happened,” Berning said. “You could tell that there was a lot of emotion there, and there was a huge need for someone to come and pick up and move forward.”
Berning felt he could be that person.
“That was very compelling for me. I saw that and thought, ‘Wow maybe this is something where I can come back and lend a hand to a place I know well and get it back on track,’” he said. “It was mostly just seeing the need and thinking ‘I could do a good job at this. I think I could come back and stabilize things and keep it moving forward.’”
Junior RA Derek Block is grateful for Berning’s return and compassion to get the Villa brotherhood back on its feet.
“He’s making some sacrifices to help our community get better,” Block said. “I really appreciate that.”
Berning is excited for spring semester, because it gives the Villa guys a chance to make their mark in events and fundraisers they are personally interested in.
“He encourages us to do things that we want, like planning events ourselves, and making them happen,” junior Community Assistant Sean Norgard said.
One of the biggest things that he wants students to focus on is engagement and excellence. He said that Villa’s atmosphere provides encouragement for residents to get involved and make their mark.
“Right now we are working on making a Villa history area, where more people can see it; it’s not just an oral tradition, but people can see what we’ve done,” Norgard said. “Especially with Villa Drum Squad. We’ve traveled over 10,000 miles. It’s kind of a big deal.”
Berning added that Villa is an environment where everyone’s personality is able to thrive.
“Villa has always prided itself in including people that might be excluded in other settings,” Berning said. “Instead of being cast out as weird or odd, peoples’ traits are embraced as positive qualities. You don’t have to be a certain mold to be a Villain, or to be appreciated, you just have to be open, happy and excited to live here, and people will accept you in. I want to continue to build that, making Villa not about individual friend groups, but about a wider brotherhood.”
In his free time, Berning enjoys playing staff sports and reading.
“I read a lot. I switch between non-fiction, life-changing books and fantasy,” said Berning. “I try to make most of my reading meaningful. I get tired of reading books about other worlds. I’m like, ‘This is great, but I need to think about improving this world and learning.’”
Berning has already co-founded a non-profit, Global Ade, with fellow student and friend Kenny King, during their time in the E-Scholars program together.
Global Ade supports education in developing countries, mostly in Cambodia. They give money to people on the ground with ideas to improve the current education systems and existing projects that need expanding.
“(King) now just quit his job to work on it full-time,” Berning said. “It’s so cool to think that there is a tangible result of that program. For him it’s like, ‘We did this and now I’m doing it for real after college,’ and that’s really cool.”
After graduating, Berning studied education policy of developing countries at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, U.K. though a Fulbright grant.
“I just had so much fun; it really exposed me to a new level of diversity and experiences,” Berning said. “On so many levels it was fulfilling — on the academic, personal and travel levels.”
Although he has only been working on campus since Nov. 31, Berning can already feel the difference in his role.
“My chance now for impact is very different than being here as a student,” Berning said. “I’m coming to UP with a lot of perspective. I have a completely new set of responsibilities, and that’s very exciting.”
