Biondo: What has been your favorite memory at Berkshire? 

Maher: I have been here for twenty years, and I have twenty years of so many memories. [So] It’s hard to say what my favorite is. I can pick one that I think about a lot, which is 2013 prize night. The weather was horrendous, it rained like I had never seen before and we didn’t cancel prize night, and all the students were dancing underneath the tent. We had the lights on on the football field and suddenly a song came on that the students loved and all of the students ran out in the torrential rain and danced like I’d never seen for hours soaked to the skin! It was a moment of complete joy; one of those memories that captured an emotion so completely and entirely. That was one for me! 

Biondo: How has Berkshire shaped you as a person? 

Maher: In many ways, I think I have grown exponentially both personally and professionally since I’ve been here. I came to Berkshire when I was 38 years old. I previously was at Taft for seventeen years and then came to Berkshire. There were administrative opportunities here that really pushed me professionally. I was working on raising my children and new professional responsibilities and learning how to balance both in such an all-in community like Berkshire. I’ve grown in learning how to connect deeply with members of the community and how to be one part of something that’s much bigger than oneself. To really lean on and rely on the strengths of others around you and also with you. Additionally, watching Berkshire continue to grow and morph into a place of learning that feels really relevant and vibrant and serving students in powerful important ways were all experiences that really shaped me.

Biondo: What is your favorite Berkshire tradition? 

Maher: I have a lot of them! I’m going to have to say Mountain Day! Mountain Day is one of my favorite traditions. Mountain Day celebrates this place where we are. It recognizes that everyone needs a moment to just pause and look around and appreciate how incredibly lucky we are to be in this beautiful special place. Not just recognize it but go out and enjoy it, like go out on the mountain and run up the trails and explore where you are. I love everything from the response at the time of the announcement of Mountain Day to how fatigued and happy everyone is at night when everyone has run around all day and really enjoyed where they are. Mountain Day is just one of my favorites!

Biondo: How has Berkshire changed over the years? 

Maher: Berkshire has worked hard to stay relevant as the world has changed in neckbreak speed. When you think about the immensity of the shifts in change in the world outside of the walls of Berkshire in the last twenty years, in the last five years, actually in the last three years since the pandemic, Berkshire has worked hard to understand those changes and what it means to provide an education for students here that prepares them for life. Life looks different outside of Berkshire than it did twenty years ago, ten years ago, five years ago, three years ago. So, Berkshire has grown and changed to meet the needs of students.

Biondo: What will you miss most about being under the Mountain? 

Maher: I will miss the support and love of the community that is as tight-knit as this one. It’s a 

really unique experience to live and work shoulder-to-shoulder with people. People who are boarding school faculty and staff know what that means. Outside of this world though, people don’t understand what that means. It’s a completely different lifestyle from what most people experience, and I have really loved it and will miss it. 

Biondo: One piece of advice you want to leave students with? 

Maher: One piece of advice I would leave to students is to…and I know students hear this all the time and it sounds a bit cliche. But, to really invest in relationships with adults in your day-to-day life and know who those adults are. Even when you go to the immediate next step – if you choose to continue into a college setting – know how to engage with adults, ask for help, and go to office hours. How to use an advisor as someone who can help mentor and guide, and how you ask for mentorship and guidance is something that takes you all through professional life, family life, and community life, and you learn that here. I think my piece of advice would be to learn how to do that here.