Fernando joined Berea from Richmond, Virginia, where both of his parents were educators. When Fernando enrolled at Berea College, he wanted to follow their footsteps, but, after a couple of years studying to be a teacher, he found his passion waning. So, he changed his major to Music and never looked back. He found joy in his new focus and eventually secured a fulfilling position as a youth director for a church. Because of your support of Berea’s students, Fernando found his calling.
Fernando’s dreams took shape because of your gifts to Berea College. And your generosity also set a powerful example. For most of his time as a student, Fernando paid your generosity forward by donating a portion of his student labor paychecks back to the College through our Berea Patrons program, which gives students the chance to become philanthropists themselves by helping fund their classmates’ educational opportunity.
Without donors’ gifts, there’s no way I could have come here and found this path. How could I not give back, too?
Each one of us has a calling, whether we hear it or not. If we’re lucky, it finds us, but often, it needs us to listen very carefully for it. At Berea College, students’ first of many lessons is the importance of listening. Listening likely led them here in the first place, listening for their chance to earn a world-class college education without owing a dime of tuition. That opportunity is what led outstanding musician and recent Music graduate, Fernando ’21, to Berea College. It’s also what inspires him to give back to the College as a Berea Patron.
“For the same reason I’m a Berea Patron, I wanted to be a teacher like my parents. I wanted to help,” Fernando said, but during his sophomore year, his passion for teaching began to fade. He found himself taking refuge in his many musical endeavors. After weeks of agonizing over his direction in life, Fernando bravely shared his worries with one of his Berea mentors and director (now retired) of the Black Music Ensemble, Dr. Kathy Bullock. “I’m so glad she was there,” Fernando said. “Dr. Bullock asked me why don’t I follow my music? It’s following me, so why don’t I follow it?”
So, Fernando changed his major to Music and never looked back. He dug into his studies and found joy in his labor position as a sound engineer in the Music department, and as a pianist for the Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. Campus Christian Center. And now, just months after earning his Berea degree, Fernando is working as a youth director for a church, where he is still an educator, but with a different kind of classroom. In short, Fernando found his calling.