Berea Memoirs Pt. 1

This May, I will be graduating from Berea College. I will have two degrees, both B.A.s--one in German, one in Speech Communication. It has been such a quick four years for me. I remember the moment that I walked on Berea's campus.

It was March 2005, my father and I had made a trip up to Berea to have a campus visit and to turn in my application for the Bonner Scholars program. I remember the tour of the campus (although it looked very different then), the "oh so wonderful Food Service" (after four years, not so much), and the talk that I had with the staff at the Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service (CELTS). Little did I know, that that my visit to this tiny college in south-central Kentucky would take me on a journey that looking back, I could have never predicted.

See, it all began in November 2004. My guidance counselor at Karns High School in Knoxville, Tennessee had, unbeknownst to me, submitted a formal recommendation that Berea College send me an application for admission.

After I received my application to Berea, filled it out, and sent it off (the day before the deadline), I began a long process of waiting to hear back from the college as to whether or not I would be admitted. In the mean time, I received stacks of mail from other schools including USCLA, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Tennesse, and numerous other institutions. Every few days, I would pick up one of the applications and set it back down again, partially filled out as the deadlines continued to pass.

Finally, during the week of my Birthday, I received a very thick envelope. Its return address read "Berea College." The recipient, "Mr. Aaron Sachs." I held my breath as I gingerly opened the envelope and pulled out the packet of papers. The first page read, "Dear Mr. Sachs, congratulations on being admitted to Berea College."  That first sentence would change my life forever.

Included in the packet was letter and application that invited me to apply for something called the Bonner Scholars program. As I read the letter, it gave details of the program, stating how the program was designed to give a select number of students the opportunity to have a labor position at the school where they would participate with various non-profit community partners in providing services such as after programs, environmental justice, and literacy advocacy to the Berea community.

I applied to the program and was invited to a preview weekend which would be held in Berea.  My family decided to come up to Berea with me.  To my chagrin, they were much like any other family--they embarrassed me every chance they had that weekend.  Regardless, the weekend went well.  I met other students like myself, students who were interested in community service.  Throughout Friday and Saturday, we were interviewed by staff members in an attempt to determine which students would be the best candidates for being Bonner Scholars.  Meanwhile, those of us who were not interviewed played games, engaged in dialog regarding community service, as well as a host of other activities...including walking to WalMart at midnight (my favorite).

Several weeks later, I received an envelope in the mail congratulating me on being accepted as a Bonner Scholar.  Thus begins my Berea journey.

To be continued...