Lexie Berry's Long Journey Led to Brandywine

Story courtesy of Jeff Scarpone, Penn State Brandywine Athletics

MEDIA, Pa. - Penn State Brandywine was not on Lexie Berry’s radar as she began her college search process; however, two years later, Berry is nearing completion of her second year on campus and as a member of the Brandywine volleyball team.

When she began her college search, Berry was looking at big schools: the University of Connecticut, the University of Georgia and Penn State University Park. Berry mentioned that she was interested in Penn State to her aunt, who told her that Penn State had a campus not far from her house in Delaware County.

“She told me there was a campus 15 minutes from her and I looked further into it and realized that I could do the 2+2 program. My immediate family was going to be really far away and I didn’t want to be completely alone so I chose Brandywine,” said Berry.

In fact, Berry’s family was a half a world away in South Korea. After being born in Utah, Berry’s residences included Maine, South Carolina, and New Mexico before the family moved to South Korea.

Berry grew up in a military family. Her parents were both members of the air force - her dad an active duty officer and her mom in the air force reserves. She spent six years living on the air force base at Camp Walker in Daegu, South Korea. While in South Korea, Berry attended an American school and tried her hand at a number of different sports. She grew up competing in gymnastics and cheerleading before playing volleyball and softball for four years. She even tried wrestling for a short time.

Organized sports at Camp Walker were a different experience for Berry than in the United States.

“It was a lot different. We didn’t always have access to a coach. Our teachers at school would sponsor the team and a parent that knew the rules would come and coach us. If we had enough people interested in the sport, we could play. Otherwise, we had to go convince people in school to play,” said Berry.

Berry’s teams would compete against international schools and other American military schools based in Korea before an annual season-ending tournament in Japan each year.

Berry thought her playing days were over after she graduated high school; however, when her mom saw a picture of the Brandywine volleyball team on Facebook, it sparked her interest in the sport again.

“I thought to myself ‘I really want to try to play. I think I could make it’ so I emailed our coach and she invited me to a preseason practice. I ended up making the team last year,” added Berry.

Not only did Berry make the team, she competed in 17 matches for a Brandywine team that reached the conference tournament for ninth-straight year in 2021. Berry’s role increased during the 2022 season as she played in all 23 matches for the Lions, helping Brandywine reach the conference tournament semifinals in State College.

In addition to playing for the volleyball team, Berry has also gotten involved around campus. She works as a gameday worker in the athletic department and as an orientation leader. Berry also recently completed research with Dr. Joshua Marquit, an associate teaching professor in psychology at Brandywine.

Berry selected a topic that interested her: mental health issues facing children with deployed or active duty parents in the military.

“Because I’m a military kid, I wanted to know more about how much military kids go through. Through my research, I found that kids with active duty or deployed parents often do deal with more mental health issues like depression and anxiety, as well as behavioral issues, than the average person,” said Berry.

Berry presented her research during the campus’ annual Exhibition of Undergraduate Research Enterprise and Creative Accomplishment (EURECA) competition. She was awarded first place, earning a spot at the regional competition. She will be presenting her findings on Saturday, April 22 at Penn State York during the regional EURECA meeting.

Berry, a psychology major, has ruled out a career in the military, but after completing her project, may have an interest in continuing to research mental health in military families.

“After doing the project, I think I want to continue to looking at the stats on military families. Not just kids, but the adults as well. I want to find ways that we can provide more for them,” concluded Berry.

After originally planning to move on to University Park after two years at Brandywine, Berry has had a change of plans. She will be returning to Brandywine for her final two years and is looking forward to continuing her volleyball career for at least two more seasons.