Whether he’s in the pool, in the weight room, or in the classroom, junior James Berg always has a friendly and inviting smile. Since he was a child, Berg has had a hardworking mentality. In almost everything he does, he puts a 100% effort into it. His determination to succeed is noted in his Health Careers class.

This year, Berg got sixth in state for HOSA Health Photography, and eighth in the state for HOSA Existing Medical Innovation. Berg believes his success this year comes from the mentality that his parents instilled into him as a child.

“Growing up my parents always pushed me to be the best I could be, and always told me not to give up,” Berg said. “I’ve been involved in honor placement classes since elementary school, because of them. I believe this is what made me who I am today, and taught me that working hard is good.”

Fellow classmate and junior Andi Veseli has noted Berg’s hard work throughout the year and agrees that he was one of the hardest workers in his class.

“I mean this year Jimmy really took off. He was working hard every day, and never had any time to waste,” Veseli said. “He rarely turned in assignments lates and tried to come to school every day, even if he was sick. I’m really happy for him to see that all his hard work paid off.”

On top of this, Berg was participating in water polo, where he played on the varsity team. Teammate and sophomore William Thannert, claims that Berg worked exceptionally hard this year to improve as a player, more than he did during his other two years of high school.

“He was always on top of things during the season. He rarely missed/skipped a practice, and was always one of the first on the deck. During practice he always trying new things, and working on his shooting technique,” Thannert said. “He never missed a game, and showed up to every tournament ready to play.”

This year Berg honed his craft in water polo, attempting to be the best player that he possibly could be.

“But his improvement as an overall polo player was really his most drastic change. You can see big differences in his shooting form, swimming form, and eggbeater kick. He’s also really aggressive, and doesn’t allow himself to be pushed around and bullied in the water,” Thannert said.

In other classes, Berg maintains his strive for greatness, while at the same time talking to new people and making others laugh. Friend and math classmate, and junior Addison Youkhanis says that Berg is one of the nicest and funniest guys in his class.

“He’s really funny, and always makes the class burst out in laughter,” Youkhanis said. “While at the same time being funny, he also asks the most questions. He’s one of the smartest in our class and has one of the highest grades as well. He’s one of the most determined to figure out the math by himself, before asking the teacher for help.”

There’s more than what meets the eye when it comes to Berg. Not only is he athletic, smart, and funny, but he’s caring too.

“He’s also a really caring guy, and I’ve seen him numerous amounts of time ask people how they were feeling, and if they were having a good day. He truly is a nice guy, and I’m really happy that his hard work has gotten him far this year,” Youkhanis said.