Brooklyn private independent school

Danielle R. '11 Cornell '15 '16


Berkeley Carroll was a place that always presented me with opportunities. During my time there I was able to do Speech and Debate and sports in all three seasons. Having those experiences taught me how to balance what I do inside the classroom with what I do externally, and that is a skill that I use almost constantly today. I work in STEM education for a defense company as well as run my own website. I’m able to balance both of those jobs and I would not have been able to do that as well as I do without the foundations in time management I learned at Berkeley Carroll.

Another skill I learned at Berkeley Carroll was the ability to think on the fly. My job now requires me to take broad concepts and figure out how to make those a reality. When I get a new problem I’m able to look at it from many different angles, and it’s because of the the confidence that Berkeley Carroll instilled in me.

My time at Berkeley Carroll also gave me some unique opportunities. During my junior year I spent a semester at the Mountain School in Vermont with 44 other students from around the country. Most of my life up to that point was spent in Brooklyn, and I knew the rural setting of Vermont would be a big change. However, I went without hesitation because I knew it would be a unique opportunity I needed to experience. That experience led to me finding a passion for environmental engineering, and because of that experience I was able to intern with FEMA.

I got that internship because one of my teachers at Berkeley Carroll saw the posting while I was in Vermont and sent it to me. The commitment that teachers have to the students at Berkeley Carroll is something I still value today. Had she not looked out for me, I would not have had the opportunity for that internship, which led to me getting into Cornell for Environmental Engineering, which shaped a huge part of who I am today.