Berry eyes bright future after Dartmouth graduation

Dartmouth costs around $92,000 a year to attend, and Berry received a “full ride” due to her academic performance and the availability of “exceptionally good financial aid” at the college, meaning she graduated debt-free with her bachelor’s degree in government.

Having focused her scholarship on political philosophy and education policy, Berry said studying government “forever changed how I see the world we live in.”

“I chose to get my degree in government because that department had such a wide variety of classes that interested me,” Berry said. “For example, my senior fall, I took a class co-taught by three wonderful government professors that covered the 2024 presidential election as it happened.

“They also brought in a guest speaker each week, including a current senator and a former vice president. That same term, I also took a class on the Supreme Court. Our class then took a trip to D.C. that winter break and actually watched oral arguments at the Supreme Court.”

In addition to serving her fellow students as an undergraduate adviser, Berry contributed to the Dartmouth Law Journal as an associate editor and worked as a teacher’s assistant at a Hanover preschool, with the latter two experiences directly informing her next steps in life.

“This summer, I’m preparing to teach second grade for the next few years in Nashville,” Berry said. “After that, I hope to go to law school in Tennessee.

“In high school, I realized I wanted to pursue law after joining the Mock Trial Team. I worked for (Chief Magistrate) Cary Cox in high school and (Blairsville attorney) Daniel Duello in college.

“I would love to do personal injury work in the long run, but I think right after law school, I would want to be a public defender for a few years.”

Reflecting on her time at the Ivy League campus, Berry said when she first set out for New Hampshire, she perceived an assumption by fellow Southerners that she was going to be surrounded by New Englanders. As it turned out, that wasn’t the case.

“Dartmouth brings so many different people together from across the world,” Berry said. “The biggest culture shock I experienced at Dartmouth wasn’t meeting all these new people from countries I never knew existed; it was the money. The majority of the students at Dartmouth come from families who have more money than anyone back home can imagine.”

And she received another “shock” during her time there, revealing that some of her experiences at Dartmouth aged her, “and not necessarily for the better.”

“I spent 18 years watching people who did something wrong have consequences for their behavior, and that wasn’t my experience at college,” Berry said. “There are ‘educational conversations’ that are had with the students who harm others, but never any actual closure for the victims.

“This culture of sweeping things under the rug especially hurts the female students. (At home in Blairsville), I was taught to speak up for others when I saw something bad happen to them, and this value was not encouraged by my college.

“I am forever indebted to my hometown for instilling strong morals and values in me. These values allowed me to get through four years at Dartmouth.”

Speaking of hometown values, Berry would love to thank her family “for always being there these past four years.”

And she offers a special shout-out to April Krieger, who teaches English and coaches Mock Trial at Union County High: “She prepared me for Dartmouth in so many ways beyond reading and writing.”

“I would tell students back home to seek out as many new experiences and people as possible, and to try as many new foods as you can,” Berry said in words of advice. “I would also suggest getting a public library card and reading as many books as your schedule fits.”

The North Georgia News congratulates Mollie Berry on her hard-earned achievement and wishes her all the best in her future endeavors.