Simone Bergeron
B.A., Business Administration, Management, 2023
“As an Alfie Scholar, I believe that with all that we do and say, it is essential to think not only about oneself but also about others. I feel it is a duty for me to speak up and speak out about the injustice within this world and seek to be a leader of change.”
Service & Work:
Volunteer, Monthly Food Bank
Volunteer, Los Angeles Marathon
Awards & Honors:
Treasurer, Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society
Alfie Scholars, Cohort 6, 2021–2023
Achievement Scholarship
Redhawk Grant Transfer
Dean’s Honor List, West Los Angeles College
Baptist State Convention Scholarship Award, 2019
Simone’s Story
Growing up in the family that I did, music was always a part of who we were – who I am. My father was a promoter & DJ at one point in time, one of my godfathers is a music manager, and music was always being made or played around me. Even when my parents divorced when I was almost 7 and my younger brother was almost 5, music was embedded in our roots from both sides of my family. Through all the pain and struggle I have faced thus far in my life, music was there. Despite the struggles within each household, it was nothing compared to what both sides of my family’s ancestors went through to allow us continue life. The strength and perseverance that I have adopted is greatly attributed to those of my family who worked just to survive. All the strawberries and cotton they picked made way for my grandparents, parents, aunts & uncles, cousins, and me to pick what we want to do and where we want to go in life.
Having that in mind, I felt a huge sense of responsibility, but pressure as well. Furthermore, many of my words and actions held no regard of what my family may feel. This led to assumptions, shame, and, most prominently, judgement. However, there was one person who continued to encourage me – my grandfather. The one who encouraged me to continue to pursue music and that despite the person I was, that was not all that I was. My grandfather passed in March of 2014, and with his passing, went my freedom. That freedom was playing music. I played my saxophone at his funeral, a tribute of sorts, in the song “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion. After playing, I put my saxophone in its case and closed it for, what I believed would be, the last time.
It took only 2 and a half years for me to understand who I was and what I was meant to do. It was when I stepped into my beginning Music Tech class in 10th grade, that I felt the same sense of freedom that had died when my grandfather did. It is the things that you experience that really determine who you become, and for that, mine was the early loss of my freedom. Yet, I had the opportunity to reclaim my freedom, or rather, my birthright. What I seek to do is create and develop a space where people have the freedom, creative control, and ability to succeed in the entertainment industry no matter where they come from. It is because of this that I am attending Seattle University to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management.
Advice:
Attending a university holds meaning for any- and everyone that is looking to go and even those who could do so. There is a very publicized statement about university that is posed to influence one’s belief on attending university. This statement would be somewhat saying that “university isn’t for everyone.” While that holds some truth, it is not true in totality. I feel that even contemplating or even attempting to go through university is what allows people to understand where they want to be. If there is any advice, I could give about aspiring to attend university, it would be to not worry so much as to what it is you want to attend for in the sense of a degree. If there is anything to ponder over, it would be the way that you feel about the community, the location, and yourself being in that place. Another thing to recognize is that where you are and where you have chosen to go does not mean it’s permanent. You will know what is best for you, even if you don’t get it right on the first, second, third, and even more times beyond that. The important thing is that you feel happy about where you are, what you are doing, and that you get the degree, or degrees, you seek.
Goals:
Growing up in the position that I have and with the natural aspects of my life attributing to who I am, I feel I have so much to fight for. Thus, with an opportunity such as the Alfie Scholars Program, I am choosing to use my voice and my actions to bring awareness. My goal is to inform others about the importance of reform in our education system to provide knowledge for future politicians and lawmakers to root out racial inequalities and develop a better government system. I, like many, have been subject to the obtainable knowledge of the United States by an education system that intentionally seeks to reclusively inform students. With no intention to educate students as to the history of their ancestors, and the ancestors of others as well, we are undoubtedly stuck in a paradigm as to how the United States will function. We cannot look to end racism, socio-economic imbalance, and other disparities within the country if we are not cognizant of its beginnings, development, and modern status in our society. I seek to counter this unjustly system is by implementing a mandate that states for educational materials, such as textbooks, to be rewritten, edited, and approved by a board of culturally aware people. The majority of knowledge students gain is through the educational material teachers/professors are given, so it is important that both are aware of all that has created the United States. I hope to give, learn, and grow in order to make a way for my generation and future generations to change and develop the United States for better.
On Civility:
Civility is acting or speaking to others with a same amount of fairness and equality, and still doing so with regards to the different relationships that you have with each other. Civility is a huge part of character and plays a part in defining who we are as people and what we are trying to say while doing all that we do. It is important that we all embrace civility because it means being able to live with one another in coexistence rather than to live amongst one another. For us to get along and to be able to develop as a society, we must learn to understand one another.
