Justin '21

Justin '21 of Burnsville, West Virginia, is certainly a student of great promise. He excelled in academics and extracurricular activities during high school in his small Appalachian town of just under 500 people.

Justin appreciates that professors offer rigorous coursework, and that he is required to apply critical-thinking skills to succeed in his area of study. He also finds Berea College to be academically supportive and has utilized the expertise of a physics teaching assistant early in his college career.

In addition to the rich academic experience Berea provides, Justin embraces the community in which he learns and grows. "I've met so many different people from so many different cultures that I never thought I would have met," said Justin. "You can grow as an individual by looking around and seeing others and learning from them."

Justin places great importance on the labor program and internship opportunities available at Berea College and credits the programs with making students competitive in the work place. He has worked as an office assistant in the library, as a physics teaching assistant, and currently serves as a physics shop technician in the Margaret A. Cargill Natural Sciences and Health building.

Berea has also provided internship and study abroad opportunities to Justin. He participated in Entrepreneurship for the Public Good, a program that offers students the opportunity to work in rural Appalachian counties promoting ventures that will boost recognition of the region's economic and cultural assets. The program was "instrumental to my growth at Berea," said Justin. He credits the program with significantly improving his self-confidence and entrepreneurial leadership.

Justin participated in an internship abroad with Community Lifestyle Support in Bundaberg and Queensland, Australia, which is a disability support services group using the concept of makerspaces to design and build new products to assist people with disabilities. There, he worked in a rapid prototype lab utilizing computer numerically controlled machines, such as 3D printers. "It was a great experience," said Justin.

"I didn't think I would have a college education because of the cost," said Justin. "Berea gave me a sense of hope and a way to do it."

Justin knows that this robust academic and cultural experience would not be possible without donors. "I think that it's important for a donor to have a good understanding of what each individual kid here represents, because I'm not special in that sense. I'm one of 1,600 people who all have their own unique story, their own unique worthwhile background, who came to Berea in order to get the experiences that they need in order to succeed."