Berry College Gate of Opportunity Scholarship Program

Our November Alumni of the Month is Kassie Jones! . Kassie was born in Japan. As a military kid she moved a lot. She lived in Georgia for high school, then her family moved to Florida her junior year. Her next-door neighbor was a student at Berry. She visited her at Berry and knew it was her second home before attending. Kassie was able to fund her first year at Berry, but not her second, and began looking into schools in Florida. She heard about Gate reali...zed she hit every requirement. Receiving the scholarship was huge for Kassie because she was able to stay at Berry. On campus, Kassie worked as a computer lab assistant for her first job. She became a SOAR leader for two years, SGA secretary her sophomore and junior years, then SGA president her senior year. She was a wedding coordinator in the Hospitality & Events office and a secretary in the Dean of Students office. Kassie’s favorite Berry memory was walking campus the night before graduation with her best friends as they laughed, cried, and reminisced about their time at Berry. Her favorite Gate Scholar memory was making dinner each week during the summer with a group of gates and watching scary movies. Kassie graduated in May of 2018 with a Political Science major and History minor. She went on to get her Master’s in Public Service and Administration. She currently works for the Department of Defense as an analyst in intelligence. She recently got accepted into the military as an officer in the Air Force and will become an Air Battle Manager. Kassie’s hobbies include running, politics, traveling and hanging out with friends. She believes what makes her special is her perspective of looking at life with a glass half-full mentality. Her advice to senior gates is to put in the hard work now and it will pay off later. Try your hardest. Life isn’t going to give you opportunities, you have to fight for them. Her advice to younger gates is to get your hours in but still have fun! See more

Our November Gate of the Month is Reed Couch! Read his awesome story below. . . Freshman Reed Couch turned down a full ride to play football so he could attend the school where he felt the most at home. ... In high school, Reed was a member of the National Honors Society, took 45 hours of college credit classes, and received the principal’s award. He also acted as a mentor for the Chick-fil-a leadership academy for three years, volunteered for Special Olympics and Christmas for Kids for four years. Outside of school, Reed enjoyed spending time with people of all different backgrounds and interests. He believes in service over self through making his community a better place. Reed liked Berry, but the money made it challenging for him to attend his dream school. His last two college visits were to Berry College and a university who offered him a full ride to play football. Despite the brief two-hour lunch visit to Berry, he knew Berry was his home. Reed realized he qualified for the Gate Scholarship and applied. Since he arrived on campus for his first summer at Berry, Reed started making new friendships and enjoying everything Gate has to offer that will make him a better man. He is excited for lifelong friendships and is looking forward to making these four years the best years of his life. See more

Our October Alumni of the month is Derrell Mims! Read his story below. . Derrell graduated in 2019 with a degree in Exercise Science. At Berry he played football and ran track. Before Berry, Derrell lived in Douglasville. He grew up in a single parent household with his twin brother and older sister. His background was hard without a father figure in his life. My siblings and I tried to find that satisfaction and longing in other places, Derrell said. Before Berry I was a ...happy smiling kid, trying to be that unique spirit and smile. I was masking pain. My life was purposeful, but hopeless. Derrell heard about Berry through football recruiting and visited for the free food but ended up loving Berry. He heard about Gate and received the scholarship after his sophomore year. Derrell’s junior year summer he stayed at Berry through the Gate program and came to Christ. God called him into a minister role. Derrell believes he would not be where he is today if he didn’t get Gate. That summer was the foundation for me of knowing who I am, and what God is calling me into. Being in the Gate community around people with different backgrounds and skin colors helped me see a different vision for people and share the gospel. After graduating, Derrell got a job with Campus Outreach as a campus minister. He is co-chaplain of Berry’s football team, leads bible studies and talks with the players about their lives. The goal of his work is to see guys come to Christ. Even if they don’t want a relationship with the Lord I still do life with them and reflect Christ’s love to them. Derrell’s advice to senior Gate Scholars is to know that your worth does not come from a job title, but who you are as a person. He encourages seniors to get a job they will love. To younger Gates, Derrell encourages them to connect and take advantage of the resources they have at Berry. The best Gate Scholar memory for Derrell was saying bye to former coordinator Wendy Dalghren by thanking her for investing in him. I was living for this purpose that was hopeless, Derrell said. That first summer as a Gate gave me not only my sense of purpose, but the hope behind it too, which was in Christ. See more

Our October Gate of the Month is Dylan Swan! Read her awesome story below. . . Sophomore Dylan Swan received the Gate Scholarship during the middle of a pandemic. Dylan worked four jobs during the summer before her freshman year so she could afford to attend Berry. When people look at me and hang out with me, they assume I easily got the Gate Scholarship, Dylan said. It was actually really hard. When Dylan was three weeks old, she had open heart surgery. If her parents ha...dn’t brought her to the doctor when they did, she would not be here today. I like to tell people I was a robot for 5 minutes. The doctor put me on a ventilator and another machine that helped blood pump through my body so he could take my heart out and operate on it. I had two holes in my heart. Whenever Dylan wants to give up, she thinks back to that surgery. I did not give up then so why would I now? If God did not want me on this earth, he could have easily let me go then. I am supposed to be here and make a difference in this world. Through middle school and high school, Dylan had the mentality of never giving up. She has ridden horses since she was 11 and started playing softball in high school. She eventually found lacrosse and fell in love with the sport. Her passion for lacrosse led her to play at Berry. Dylan is involved with two clubs on campus, Listen and Campus Outreach. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Dylan’s had to find a way to pay for college. Her Financial Aid Advisor, Amanda Swendsen encouraged her to apply for as many scholarships as possible and helped her in every way. She found out she received the Gate Scholarship during finals week this past spring. She was in one of her final online zoom classes, cheering and crying tears of joy with her mother. Little did she know, her mic was on! Dylan hopes to grow in her career development through her time as a Gate Scholar and become more comfortable articulating her professional experience. Dylan’s advice to other students who are struggling is to never give up. If God wants you to be somewhere, he will keep you there, Dylan said. No one is going to give you something for no reason, you have to work hard for it. See more

Read this article about our new director and learn about her story, written by senior Gate scholar Emily Reid.