Teacher Feature: Mrs. Berwager

All the way at the end of the science hallway in room 16, you will find a teacher who is commonly described as kind, caring, and supportive. A teacher whose story is one of triumph and a life of helping others. This is Brandi Berwager, a woman who has many roles and responsibilities even in her relatively short time at Pottsgrove. The first 10 years of her life were spent in Baltimore County, MD. Her parents then moved to Hanover, PA in southern York County, to get a better life, education, and house. She attended Southwestern High School in Hanover and got her Bachelor of Science in biology at Susquehanna University.

After schooling, she worked as a teacher at Cedar Crest High School and Renaissance Academy. She also served as Executive Director of Girls on the Run for two years, a nonprofit organization that supports young girl runners. She came to Pottsgrove in 2021, and it is now her 5th year here. She likes Pottsgrove, and she wishes the students knew that they have unlimited potential to grow as long as they are willing to work hard. Her teachers in high school and college inspired her to become a teacher. She’s happy she’s been able to impact and help so many here; one thing that brings her happiness is helping others.

She doesn’t go by just Mrs. Berwager at Pottsgrove, she is also the cross country head coach, Aevidum co-advisor, and biology plus human anatomy teacher. The best part of her day is making connections with students and other teachers. She has many favorite students, way too many to mention, and she always looks for the positive in all the students she teaches.  One of the most important things she focuses on is social and emotional development. If she were to teach any other class, it would be about mindfulness and emotional skills. She gets to do this as the Aevdium co-advisor, and one thing she hopes to do to make Aevdium bigger is to expand to the middle school. She wants the club to be available for anyone who needs it, and the hope is for Aevdium to become more and more student-led and operated as time goes on. 

Her stay here at Pottsgrove hasn’t been all smooth. Unfortunately, she finds that technology is becoming more difficult to control as students lose attention and come to rely on it instead of thinking independently. She says that one of the hardest things about teaching is putting effort into lessons, but the students may not want to do their fair share when it comes to learning. Some of the things she’s had to adapt to combat this are having more breaks, more hands-on activities, and trying to pick up the pace of lessons and connect them to the real world. But she knows she just has to change with the times, and she’s okay with that.

Every day, Mrs. Berwager gives so much effort to her students, her athletes, and her peers. Hopefully, after hearing her story before and during her time at Pottsgrove, it becomes apparent that her life is committed to bringing learning and joy to others.