Who Is Ryan Berta?

By Xavier Johnson-Mitchell

It's a cloudy morning, and everyone has finished their Maroon or Gold 1 class. The bell rings, and everyone is on their way to Mentor Group. Stepping in, there are mixed grade levels of kids coming into room 202, the room of Mr. Balinbin. In there is the Mentor Group captain, greeting everyone with a smile: Ryan Berta.

Ryan Berta is a Junior at O'Dea High School. He's a current representative of Limerick House as a Mentor Group captain in our school leadership. In our interview, I asked him the components of his leadership.

Firstly, his brother Zach attended O'Dea and graduated in the class of 2021, and that was his big impact. Coming in as a freshman, Ryan saw the ins and outs of O'Dea early as he shadowed his brother's experiences, and found his sense of identity as he differentiated himself from his brother. In doing this, he was able to look forward to leading those around him in his mentor group.

Ryan makes his appearances in Mr. Balinbin's mentor group every school day. He sees it as an opportunity to support and improve O'Dea as a whole, and it grows his relationship with his old peers who are now friends. In his free time, he likes to see everyone at lunch together socializing and moving towards one another.