Brad Berrett

The Red Ledger: What have you been up to since you graduated?

Brad Berrett: I’ve done a lot. Right now I’m studying at BYU Idaho. I served a mission for my church, so I lived in Spain for two years. I did a study abroad in Jerusalem, and then I did a study abroad in Mexico.

TRL: What did you learn being in all of those different places?

BB: It was an amazing experience being able to see people in other locations around the world and just how they live. It really made me feel blessed for what I grew up with. That’s one thing that I loved was being able to see the world from a different view because I think, growing up in Lovejoy, I kind of did grow up in a bubble.

TRL: Did you feel that LHS properly prepared you for college and the world?

BB: Yeah, I did. I think it prepared me to a certain extent. I think with it being new, there was a lot that they were working on, but I think it did prepare me. I think a lot of that I took there have helped me with everything I’m doing now. Like right now I’m doing video production for BYU and I was able to get that position because I was in broadcast journalism for four years in high school, and so that was one thing that helped me get that job was that class.

TRL: What was one thing you wish you knew in high school?

BB: After being in high school and then seeing my little sister go through it, I think one thing would be to just live in the moment. High school is important because it sets you up for what college you’re going to go into and all that, but I think people get so distracted by that. A lot of people talking about high school are like, “Oh, I never want to relive that,” but I think just living in the moment and just having fun is super-important.

TRL: Is there a special memory from high school that you’ll always hold on to?

BB: One thing that we were assigned was the senior project and I feel like, with that, people did just little things to get it over with, but I think there really are no limits. You could really do whatever you want, and that goes for everything. I think people do things just to get it over with or just get on with things, but, for example, for the senior project, I was able to get approved raising funds and donations for an orphanage and we actually went to Costa Rica to drop all that supplies off. So I think there are no limitations to what you can do and, like I said, living in the moment and making every moment count and every moment memorable is important.

TRL: What is your advice to high school students that are struggling with stress and struggling with the issues that come with being a teenager?

BB: I’d tell them the same thing I’d tell my sister, because she would call me with common struggles that every high schooler has and I’d just tell her those moments in high school, it seems like they’re so long, it seems like it means the world. That’s the thing, high schoolers can’t see past that. But when you get to college and you get on with your life, it’s so much better and you’re not constricted. You don’t really have to deal with peer pressure and all the dumb high school kids. I’d just say smile about every situation because experiences and the things that you learn in high school will carry with you. And not that I always look back on high school and always fall back on that, but I feel like those moments are very middle school, and high school are the times that everyone is trying to find themselves, like who they are, and I’d say don’t be easily influenced by others. And if something doesn’t work out the way you want, with friends or sports or whatever, learn from it and just smile and keep on going.