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Makayla Berkson sees ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ as home

01/06/2025

Makayla Berkson graduated into the professional ranks in 2024, but no matter how far her ambition and ability take her, The ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ (UA) will always be home.

“ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ stood out from my first ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ visit. It seemed like somewhere I could find home. I don’t know, it was a vibe like everybody here kind of was there to help,” Makayla says.

Makayla Berkson

A Sharon, Pa, native, Makayla saw ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s depth of community early on. She recalled volunteering as a sophomore during “Move-In Day,” helping incoming freshmen move into the residence halls. “It was just really a nice experience. Seeing all the freshmen coming in and kind of ‘re-experiencing’ that first time being on ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ; seeing people going through those nerves (as she did) and being able to kind of put them at ease. That was awesome.”

A recipient of the Swenson’s Drive-Thru Marketing Scholarship, Makayla readily bonded with her UA roommates. “We met freshman year just going to classes, touring ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ. It was the middle of covid so there weren't that many people on ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ and I found quite a few that I felt like I could just really bond with and I still call them my roommates today.”

She says her collegiate experience will always be a springboard to future success for her.

“I really value the opportunities here towards education and just honestly the scholarships that we can get here. ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ really helped me to be able to save money and afford to be able to continue my education, coming from a small town. It's not a lot there so it just felt like a big change for me.”

Just as she made lifelong friendships, Makayla says the commitment of the UA faculty will always stand out. She recalls Dr. Vanja Djuric-Zoric, a faculty member whose class she called “challenging” but who elevated her ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ experience.

“She's just given me a lot of insight into the job world after graduation and she's helped me kind of figure out what I would like to do on my career path. She did a lot of one-on-one meetings with me to help me understand that class,” Makayla says of Dr. Djuric-Zoric, now chair of the Department of Marketing. “So to know that she was really willing to put in that time and help her students was just eye-opening to have that support.”

To learn more about scholarships at The ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ, click here.