By Virginia Watkins

Make, Perform, Do – this is the philosophy behind Berkshire's Pro Vita Winter Program, taking place this year between February 28 and March 5. It's a simple concept that allows great things to happen in only seven days. As program director, Bebe Bullock '86 says to Berkshire's students, "This is your chance to go big."

The Pro Vita program began in 2008, during the School's Centennial, as a celebration of academic programs, and was designed to be a one-time event. However, its model of learning for life fit the School's mission so perfectly that it expanded and was refocused under previous director, Jasper Turner, morphing into the week-long, ungraded learning experience. Because of the focus on giving students the chance to learn new things, adopt new skills, and consider new ideas, they're completely invested in the process, Bullock says. "I love how excited kids get about sign-ups. It's truly one of my favorite parts of the program."

Bullock, who began directing the program in 2015, credits Turner's focus on a Make, Perform, Do curriculum for that excitement and says that it enabled her to focus her energy primarily on Pro Vita's evening programs, as well as expanding the off-site trips to allow a greater breadth of the student body to participate. In the evenings, she attempts to build on Berkshire's All-School Read program, and last year brought author, activist and social entrepreneur Wes Moore to campus as a follow-up to campus-wide work with I Am Malala. Pro Vita is also an opportunity to bring alums back to tell their stories, a powerful experience for the students.

This year, the presenters primarily focus on how one person can make a difference in the world. They include Sheila Roach, from Project Red, Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui '85, a social entrepreneur in Mexico, and Tommy Schultz, an adventure and nature photographer for National Geographic. "It's important," Bullock acknowledges, "to bring in speakers who the students can see themselves being someday: people doing something that they can imagine." Comedian Gary Vider '02, a former Berkshire student and finalist on NBC's America's Got Talent, is scheduled to perform at the end of the week.

This session, students will be going on a variety of trips – from working in an orphanage in Ghana to canoeing the Everglades to experiencing cultural exchange in Germany, where nineteen Berkshire students will visit students from the Hildegardis School. Next year, those German students will be on Berkshire's campus for Pro Vita, in a continuation of the ongoing exchange. The idea behind the trips, Bullock says, is to "make them different from the travel that students do with their families. They should focus on learning for life, with the opportunity for taking the students outside their comfort zones in the process."

For the students who stay on campus, the 80-plus course offerings are as wide-ranging and compelling as the rest of the program. Current teachers, parents, alums and friends of the School teach such a wide range of courses that it's almost impossible for a student not to find something in his or her range of interest, Bullock says. "We have 14 visiting teachers who are out in the world specializing in their topic and they have volunteered to take a week out of their busy professional lives to come work with us."

Each course fits into one of the following categorizations: philanthropy, art and design, sustainability, global awareness, or diversity and gives students a chance at the independent inquiry that forms the basis of the program. Some stand-outs this year include a Massive Open Online Course, known more commonly as a MOOC, which is centered on the exploration of math through music and sound. The course is available to everyone – students on campus, alumni, prospective students and parents. Registration and course work is done entirely online. (Click here to register for the MOOC)

Other classes depend on hands-on creation – courses like Dunder Mifflin, in which students will create unimaginable things from paper. "There also seems to be a TV theme this year," Bullock says, citing a number of classes inspired by television: a cooking course called Cast Iron Chef; making music videos, a la MTV; and creating a throwback Thursday exhibit reminiscent of work on History Detectives, using Berkshire's own archives.

Another highlight of this year's program is "Revisiting Rockwell," an exhibit of Norman Rockwell-inspired photographs by Berkshire alum Maggie Meiners '90. The exhibit is on display through March 5 at The Warren Family Gallery at Berkshire and a virtual gallery will be available during Pro Vita week. In addition, Meiners will spend the week sharing her professional insights with students.

Students will also get to share their talents during A Cappella Palooza and Jazz Café, two of five events that will be webstreamed live from campus.

"With over 80 classes, 3 class blocks and 14 visiting teachers, the opportunities are limitless. This is a week where, all in one day, you can learn the ukulele, act as a juror in a recent murder case, and build a flashlight out of an Altoids box.

"Take risks," she advises the students. "Take risks; pick boldly." Good life advice, really.

For more information on the speakers, trips and courses, go to Berkshire's Pro Vita 2016 page.