Profile!
Board Member Profile: Berne Bendel
“Hold on, enjoy the ride, & find wonder in everything, every day.”
Board Member, and long-time Columbia Opportunities volunteer, Berne Bendel
We asked Berne Bendel to answer a few questions for us. Berne has been part of Columbia Opportunities since the mid-nineties as a Head Start teacher through now as a board member. Read her life/work story!
Q. Tell us what you will be doing now as a professor - what's your field of expertise.
A. As of September 1, 2023, I’ll be a professor of teacher education and psychology. My role and responsibilities won’t change; I’ll still be lucky to spend most of my professional time in classrooms with my cherished students. I’ll also continue my work as an academic advisor and enrollment specialist for our Nursing program, and my work in our community as a member of the board of directors for our campus day care, as a member of the Social Justice Educational Studies graduate program advisory board, and as a board member for Columbia Opportunities, Inc.
Q. Tell us about the long road to get here and what you learned about determination.
A. I’m an accidental college professor. My early career goal was to be a kindergarten teacher – and I was, in New Jersey. When my life brought me to Columbia County, NY in 1996, I had difficulty with licensing reciprocity because I received my New Jersey K-6 teaching license through a progressive and ahead-of-its-time alternate route certification program. That hiccup is what landed me in the early childhood world in Greene County, working as a co-teacher in a preschool/day care classroom. At that time, you didn’t need a degree to work in early childhood.
I answered the ad for Head Start’s combination/home visitor because it paid more than I was making at the time and it was closer to home. I knew nothing about Head Start and very little about our Columbia County or Hudson, which would be my service area. I had never done a home visit, I had never worked with such a diverse population, and I had never considered what life is like for people who are economically disadvantaged. Head Start took a chance on me and conveyed their belief that I could learn, develop, and grow – just like they do for children and families.
Head Start changes lives. It changes the lives of children, families, and their staff. It changed mine. It was my work with Head Start that ignited my passion for anti-poverty work and a hunger for social justice. I researched graduate programs that focused on social justice and humanistic approaches to education and human services and was gleefully led to SUNY New Paltz’s graduate program in Social Justice Educational Studies.
I transitioned to working at Columbia-Greene Community College in April 2000 as a member of their admissions team. Community colleges provide high-quality, low-cost access to higher education. Community colleges, too, work to eradicate poverty via increasing the career success and earning potential of their students and, therefore, increasing the economic and social health of their communities. My new work still aligned with my anti-poverty mission.
Despite my departure from Head Start and COI, I remained a committed supporter and fan of the program and agency and was glad to continue my relationship with Head Start as a member of the Policy Council. A campus colleague serving as a private-sector representative on COI’s board of directors was looking to wrap-up his service just as my term as a Policy Council representative was ending. He recommended me as his replacement and I’ve gleefully served on Columbia Opportunities’ board at the pleasure of our college president(s) since then.
I became the Director of Admissions during my pursuit of my Master’s and began teaching as an adjunct instructor of psychology and teacher education. As the teacher education program grew, a full-time faculty position was created and with my newly earned Master’s and being a NJ licensed teacher, I was eligible for the position. My teacher-roots called me back to the classroom full time, but this time with “big kids.”
I never really considered my faculty rank. It mattered little compared to what impact I could have with students and my community. I just kept teaching, saying yes when I was invited to work for good on and off campus, and advocating for equity and social justice. Each faculty rank requires additional levels of campus and community service, and those things are part of my default way of living; part of who I am and how I see the world, so I’ve enjoyed the slow, steady rise in rank, applying for and earning each step up, until I was looking at the last step – professor.
Contractually, only a particular percentage of faculty can hold specific ranks, leaving four full professor seats available for five eligible applicants and the competition was fierce. I can confidently say that my cohort of eligible peers are first-class educators and humans. They all contribute greatly to student success, to the campus, and to the world outside of our campus. I was stunned and humbled to be one of the four awarded the rank of full professor by our Professional Recognition Committee, our President, and our Board of Trustees.
Q. You worked in Head Start and then moved on to further your education and career. But you still found time to participate on the Head Start Policy Council and the COI Board. What keeps you connected to Columbia Opportunities?
A. What keeps me connected with COI? It’s a tie between the work COI does and the people who do it.
Starting with the people - I left COI’s employ 23 years ago and so many of my former COI colleagues continue to serve the agency and our community. They’ve welcomed and informed lots of new colleagues during their time, welcoming them into the work for economic equity. Their professional service and personal sacrifices are the bedrock of COI’s anti-poverty work. I appreciate, admire, and respect them and I am dedicated to supporting them in their work with COI.
I must give a separate shout-out to Tina Sharpe. I worked for her, I’ve served for her, and I stand with her. She’s modeled for me personal and professional strength, service leadership, inclusive practices, and how to make social change. She’s been a source of mentorship and support, and I am so very grateful to and for her.
Then there’s COI’s mission and work. As COI’s mission states, “COI seeks to solve poverty-related problems in our community. We provide opportunities to families and individuals so they gain the skills, knowledge and resources they need to be self-reliant.” Thanks to my time with COI and Head Start, my subsequent study, and my service on COI’s Policy Council and Board of Directors, COI and I have come to abide by and live the mission, too.
Q. You’re now on this side of completing your goal. Now, when you look back, what do you wish you could tell yourself? And what would you tell other individuals who want to learn and grow?
A. Since I wouldn’t want to alter my path to this point (even the crummy parts), I supposed I’d tell myself to hold on, enjoy the ride, and find wonder in everything, every day.
There’s a running joke in higher education: No one decides in elementary school that they’d like to be a college financial aid advisor or a college admissions counselor. I interpret this to mean that although you may have a goal, allow yourself the opportunity to experience things similar to, around the edges of, and completely outside of your goal, too. Keep your options open, take informed risks, and soak in all you can from each experience.