Building Kinder Leaders

Jared Aaronson is an experiential learner. He was part of the team that ran the first data-processing centers in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) during the Vietnam war. After he returned to the United States, he became a programmer, and he attributes his success to the hands-on training in Saigon.

Travel is another means through which he learned experientially. Aaronson was born in New York and completed his education at the University of Alabama and hitchhiked around the U.S. during that time. Later in life, he traveled to places like New Zealand and South Africa.

Aaronson sought to understand the world’s diversity through food as a medium that helps people communicate interculturally. He thinks that appreciating someone else’s culinary tradition grows an understanding that transcends linguistic and cultural differences between people and fosters connections.

He also understands that not everyone has the resources to learn from the world the same way he did. Aaronson wants America’s youth to build bridges between the cultures of the world, and he was captivated by Berea’s student body. For him, the diversity of Berea’s students creates an atmosphere where students learn from each other’s experiences.

To expand Berea students’ international vision, Aaronson donated to create a fund that pays for students to obtain a U.S. passport, the key to participating in Berea’s many education abroad programs like the Berea International Summer Term (BIST).

“The youth of today are going to be tomorrow’s leaders,” Aaronson said. “I think going to another country and seeing and experiencing other cultures and environments is essential to building kinder leaders.”

Aaronson wants to give Berea’s students the opportunity to expand their worldview through their travels and learn from the world. He has not been to campus yet, but eagerly awaits the Berea College Magazine to see what adventures Berea students are pursuing.