Campus Center Dedications
We were honored to formally dedicate the Campus Center and celebrate the spaces named by families and classes, and those carried forward from the original building over the first weekend in October.
To open the evening, Board of Trustees Chair Jim Haskel â86, Pâ20,â22,â25 welcomed the crowd gathered on The Gulotta-Quilty Terrace and called the new space âa place that creates communityâand invites connection.â He continued, âWhile the space may be new, the feeling of community and connection that greets you as soon as you walk in is not new at all, but a feeling weâve all known in our time here at Berkshire.â
Ribbon-cuttings were held for The McLanahan Bookstore, Miller Family Dining Room, Picotte Family Fireplace, and the Rovensky Student Center. Afterwards, those gathered enjoyed a student musical performance and dinner featuring all the bells and whistles of the new servery, including fresh pizza from the hearthstone oven!
Dispatch from The Dome
Why wait until Spring 2026 to see work from our talented writers and artists? This year, thanks to the editorial staff of The Dome, Berkshireâs literary magazine, we can expect installments of all kinds of creative work in a monthly âDispatch from The Dome.â Last week, Charlee Cate Cardot â27 presented her painting âTotally Failing Calculus,â a parody of John Everett Millaisâs 1865 painting of Joan of Arc, and Kat Nelson â27 shared her poem âYellow.â
What drew us to [Charlee's] piece was its genuineness and playfulness. We loved the relatability of this piece, especially during the start of school and the stressful crunch to the release of progress reports," âLena Smith '26
What we also loved about ["Yellow"] is that it speaks directly to our schoolâs motto, 'Learning, not just for school but for life.' It perfectly illustrates that writing isnât confined to an assignment or a classroom, but itâs something we take with us, something that grows and changes as we do."âMolly Caesar-Kim '26
Bears: Submit your work for the next Dispatch!
Submissions are due by Nov. 1. The next installment is due out Nov. 10!
Autumn Coard '22 Shares Remarks in Indigenous Peoples' Day Presentation
A current senior at Villanova University, Autumn Coard â22 spoke to the community this week in honor of Indigenous People's Day and the upcoming Native American Heritage Month. Coard grew up on the Shinnecock Reservation and is an enrolled member of the Shinnecock Nation.
As co-president of the Universityâs Native & Indigenous Students Association, she hopes to create communities and systems that enable future Indigenous students to feel welcome, safe, and a full sense of belonging at Villanova, long after her graduation. She spoke passionately about the strength and joy she grew up with in her community and culture, and she welcomes the chance to share her story with others at Villanova, Berkshire, and beyond.
Coard shared parts of the film Seeds We Bury, a student-led social justice documentary in which she was a collaborator on the project. The film tells parallel stories of the Ati Tribe of the Philippines and the Shinnecock Nation, which both have withstood ongoing pressure on land rights. She concluded by asking students to be aware of the people and cultures that came before them, to lean into education on land history, and to be aware of the strength and resiliency of indigenous communities into the future. Coard answered questions in Q & A after her presentation, visited classes, and met with students over lunch in the Campus Center.
Pro Vita Saturday
Berkshire kicked off the first in a series of Pro Vita Saturday morning programs with a focus on one of our core values: Resilience. In partnership with the Depth Mentoring Institute, who led workshops held in small dorm/dorm-affiliate groups, students took a deep dive into the qualities and behaviors that strengthen resilience while learning about some of the tools they can use to practice it.
Ana Alvarenga â15, Jay Cronze â09, Burke Bogardus â23, and Emily Liu â20, joined us for a panel discussion led by Will Reynolds '26 and Nathalie Fenton '26, to talk about the different ways they've cultivated resilience in their lives after Berkshire and some helpful tips for how to go about it.
After the panel and Q & A with our alumni, the moderators from Depth Mentoring Institute asked students to share some takeaways from the morning. When faced with challenging situations, for example, what are some of the things to remember or tools to try, to help keep you present and focused? The below were some of the themes that students shared back.
The morning wrapped up with a full-community lunch on the Campus Center lawn, a great way to reflect and unwind before gearing up for afternoon games and rehearsals!
The "Wagon Wheel" singalong by the Guitar Ensemble set the tone for this year's Fall Concert during Fall Family Weekend. Festive as ever, it featured live performances from the Jazz Ensemble, A Cappella Ensemble, Chamber Ensemble, Greensleeves, Ursa Minor, and selections from the Digital Music class. Bravo, Bears!
Sneak Peek: The Fall Play
Two Nights Only! October 31 & November 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Allen Theater
Mark your calendars for the Theater Department's fall production of The Play That Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, a play about a group of people trying to stage a murder mystery, but every possible thing that can go wrong in a play ... goes wrong! The cast and crew are hard at work, and with just about two weeks until showtime, we canât wait for the curtain to open!
Audiences can expect complete, delightful (and carefully choreographed) chaos! The students have thrown themselves into the physical comedy of this performance, from the stage combat to the endless hijinks. Itâs a show guaranteed to leave audiences laughing from start to finish!"âAssistant Theater Director Katie Soper '15
Comedy is in the Details
Ryan Winkles, an actor and stage fight choreographer with Shakespeare & Company, has been helping students this season with the physical comedy and stage combat training required to perform this playâs physical gags and comic stage fighting. Seniors Chloe Howard and Sophie Benjamin have been working closely with Ryan to bring the play to its full, hilarious potential!
Ryan has helped me grow more confident in doing physical comedy, which is something I have almost no experience with. He is great at taking big moments and distilling them down into smaller, precise actions which is a skill I will definitely take with me into future productions.â âChloe Howard '26
Ryan really encourages us to be creative and go all out in every absurd choice we make. I have learned that there are small opportunities for comedy in places you might never even expect.â âSophie Benjamin '26
Mic'd Up with Coach Martinez
In his first year leading the Bears, Head Coach Kelvin Martinez brings fresh energy and focus to Boys Varsity Soccer. Experience his leadership and coaching style on the field in the video below.
The Bears are lucky to have Coach Martinez's enthusiasm and dedication guiding the program!
Alumni Spotlight: Max McKersie '19
A student-athlete at Berkshire and Bates College, Max McKersie is a project manager at the start-up Underdog Venture Team, where he wears multiple hats across the business, from soccer strategy and brand growth initiatives, to property sales and support in business development. With a graduate degree in global sport management from New York University and fond memories of his own time playing NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) college soccer, in his spare time, he is spearheading the NESCAC Sports Business Group, a professional network for NESCAC students and alumni interested in the industry.
Learn more about how McKersie leveraged his passion for sports into a full-time career and his mission to create spaces where people can connect through their shared love of sports below.
Berkshire Mysteries Webinar
Calling all sleuths, gumshoes, and amateur detectives!
Berkshire has a long history of mysterious events involving stolen art, disappearances, and unsolved pranks. Test your investigative skills with Archivist Bebe Bullock '86 on Zoom to hear about 100 years of intrigue under the Mountain.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.
Photos Are Ready!
Fall Photo Day proofs by Highpoint Pictures are now available! Parents and guardians should have received an email on October 16 from support@theimageconnection.com. To order printed photos or digital files, please follow the instructions in the email. Highpoint is offering FREE SHIPPING if you order by October 30!
If you did not receive the email, please check your spam folder. Stay tuned for details on a Photo Retake Day later this fall.
For any questions about photos, contact Highpoint directly at (914) 738-5500 or email them at staff@highpointpictures.com.