With technology a fixture in today’s classrooms, more teachers are exploring new software to assist their students in their studies. One such teacher is Berry alumna Lauren Pittman (09C), who was approached by Microsoft to try out Learning Tools, a program that highlights words on a computer screen to help students with dyslexia become strong readers. Lauren’s students starred in a worldwide campaign to promote the software and told an international audience about their experience. “It’s helped show my students that there is success for them in the classroom and they can be successful readers,” Lauren says. Her classroom success story has been featured in the Washington Post, Ed Tech Magazine and later this year, Good Housekeeping. Lauren is a graduate of Berry’s Charter School of Education and Human Sciences. “What I learned at Berry and what they prepared me for has helped to set the base for my teaching philosophy and how I want to affect children’s lives,” she said.
Jonathan Pascual (04C) might be the poster child for a well-rounded liberal arts education. This psychology major took every opportunity he had to work with people, whether it was in Admissions as a tour guide, in his dorm as a resident assistant or as a missionary over breaks. His desire to connect with others put him on Berry’s first ultimate Frisbee team and took him to the dance floor with the swing dance community. Despite his busy schedule, Jonathan found time to ace Berry’s demanding academics and graduate magna cum laude. “Berry helped me mature…I grew into a confident sense of self rooted in my identity in Christ. The whole ‘Head, Heart and Hands’ mission of Berry was really heavy on the ‘Heart’ portion for me.”
After graduating, his entrepreneurial drive led him to open his own business. He started by working as a Starbucks barista and then spent a few years gaining experience opening and managing coffee shops for other people. These experiences led him to entrepreneurship in the form of Taproom Coffee—a specialty coffee and craft beer bar located in Atlanta. Now, three years in, his thriving business provides a place of fellowship and community for Atlanta.
Photo by Outlander Photography