Meet Sari Berman ’26

Finding Her Best Self

For decades, Pingry has been seen as a school whose culture prioritizes the individual. This view of the school imagines 600 Upper School students thinking of nobody but themselves, doing whatever it takes to get ahead. 

For a glimpse into the real essence of Pingry’s culture, look no further than junior Sari Berman. For Sari, success is most joyful when it is shared. This could mean celebrating a breakthrough with her Independent Research Team or feeling the fulfillment of completing a case with fellow members of the Honor Board, but her appreciation for her peers reaches beyond that. 

Sari remembers what it was like starting out at Pingry as a freshman after dealing with anxiety throughout middle school and not feeling supported by her teachers. “I came to Pingry, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest,” Sari recalls. To her, the image of Pingry being cutthroat is not a recognizable one. On the contrary, Pingry’s welcoming atmosphere has played a big role in her journey to work through her anxiety. In such a welcoming community, she says, making friends has felt easy. 

Some of Sari’s best friends at Pingry are the ones she has made on the cross country and track and field teams. Running at Pingry, however, has given her more than just friendships. Sari, who is now an accomplished runner with interest coming in from college programs, has every right to boast about her achievements on the track. Instead, she thanks those who came before her, attributing her success to the upperclassmen who pushed her to be the best version of herself during her freshman and sophomore seasons. 

Now, an upperclassman in her own right, Sari is thrilled to be able to do just that for her peers. “I think that everybody can become the best version of themselves with the right tools. I'd like to help them become that version,” Sari says, and that sentiment speaks to something larger that informs almost everything Sari does: her genuine care for others. 

In school, Sari is focusing her attention on pursuing medical science, a field in which she can make a career of helping others. When she’s outside of school, she can be found engaging with kids with special needs as part of her work with an organization called Friendship Circle, providing food to the needy with Bridges Outreach, or teaching kids in her neighborhood how to swim, free of charge. 

Still, Sari doesn’t have the air of someone who feels worn down or burdened by her commitments. After so many people helped her get through her own struggles, she became inspired to do the same for the people around her. She’s a genuine altruist. And she is Pingry.