From aspiring FBI agent to counselor for survivors of sexual assault, History teacher Ashlie Berg explored a wide variety of fields before joining the Sage Hill faculty as a history teacher in October 2021. She teaches AP United States History, AP Government, and English III, and her favorite part of history is World War II because of its “black and white” nature.
A native of Massachusetts, Berg never intended to become a teacher. Instead, she majored in history in college, planning to study law and pursue a career as an FBI special agent. This choice stemmed from her “patriotic” nature and answering the call to “protect the Constitution.” However, after working as a summer camp counselor for high schoolers, Berg discovered her passion for mental health and working with students and started looking for jobs as a counselor.
While she studied Education and Mental Health Counseling for her master’s degree at Boston University, Berg volunteered as a counselor for North Shore Rape Crisis in Lynn, Massachusetts. There, she did community education, individual therapy, and group therapy sessions for survivors of sexual assault. Later, Berg also served as an advocate with Voices Against Violence, where she helped familiarize and support survivors of domestic abuse with court cases. However, her passion for working with students motivated her to return to education and take up a position at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in 2014. Though she initially intended to work in mental health at high schools serving underprivileged communities, Berg soon realized that she had found the right fit for herself.
“I saw that mental health awareness in more prestigious schools was even lower because they assumed that people with money don’t have mental health issues,” says Berg. “So I realized that maybe my presence in those settings was more valuable than I thought.”
While working at Santa Margarita, Berg heard about Sage Hill from her colleague Meredith Schumacher, an English teacher who is married to Sage Hill’s Stephen Schumacher. Berg first came to Sage Hill as a substitute history teacher in 2019. She officially joined the Sage Hill faculty in 2021.
In her free time, Berg enjoys playing piano and running. She started playing the instrument when she was four, and on the weekends, she volunteers as a piano accompanist for the children’s choir at her church. Berg is also a competitive runner. This past April, she participated in the annual Boston Marathon alongside Tanya Lerch, Sage Center Assistant Director for Service Learning and Outreach. The two are also on the same running team, the Poppies. Yet compared to her experience with piano, running has occupied a significantly shorter duration of her life, as Berg only picked up the hobby after she had her first child.
“Sometimes we might think that our paths in life are set when we’re young, but that’s not true,” said Berg when reflecting on her late start to running. “Your life is really long, so try not to take everything so seriously,” she said.
