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Life audio. Hi from the Salvation Army, and you're listening to Words of Life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Hello, and welcome back to Words of Life.
The Salvation Army in the U.S. partners with many other organizations to help us do the most good across the country. Miss Volunteer America is a nationwide, service-oriented scholarship program that seeks to empower young women across the country through educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities. Today we have with us the 2025 Miss Volunteer America Berkeley Bryant. Berkeley sat down with Bernie Dake to talk about her story, her passion for serving, how she found the Salvation Army, and how she plans on using this platform to inspire other young women around the country.
Welcome back to Words of Life. I'm Bernie Dake and today we are privileged to have Miss Volunteer America. Berkeley Bryant, welcome to the studio. Hi, Bernie. Thank you so much for having me.
I'm so honored. You have the esteemed title of National Brand Ambassador for the Salvation Army. And what a privilege to have you here, but we want to know all the things. Tell us about Berkeley Bryant. Tell us about Miss Volunteer America.
First of all, thank you so much for having me. I'm so honored and excited to be the national brand ambassador for the Salvation Army. And the Miss Volunteer America organization partnered with the Salvation Army in order to spread the good news and be a part of doing something good. Our mission is really all about empowering young women through educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities. That's our ultimate goal.
And I actually received a $50,000 scholarship when I won Miss Volunteer America back in June of 2024 and now have been traveling the whole country. as an ambassador for the Salvation Army as well as the organization. Yeah.
So, this is built into the fiber of Berkeley. I gotta know: who are you? Where did you come from? How did you win this opportunity?
Well, when you say it's ingrained into who I am, that's definitely true because I grew up in a military family, actually.
So, my dad was in the Air Force for 20 years.
So, he served, and I was actually born on an Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas. We actually moved to Montgomery, Alabama, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and then finally found home in South Carolina.
So, when the pageantry stuff stepped into play for me, I was actually a South Carolina volunteer.
So, I lived in South Carolina from middle school onward. I'm 24 years old now, and that really is home to me. But I always say that the military lifestyle really taught me so much about appreciating our surroundings and appreciating diversity and the differences that we all carry. And that's always been so important to me to acclimate yourselves to the world around you. And that's been really important in my travels, as you can imagine, throughout the whole country.
That's definitely served me well. For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal. They include loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrive Ent, planning your finances is bigger than just money. We help you put your plans into motion and faith into action so you can do more for the ones in your heart.
Because sometimes all you need to make a difference is someone to help you make it happen. Thriveent, where money means more. Connect with us at ThriveEnt.com. School hobbies, talents, are you acquired? Tell us more about that.
Yes.
So I actually grew up dancing.
So I've been a competitive dancer since I was three years old. It was always my dream to go to Clemson University. Even when we were living in Texas or Alabama, I would be the little kid in the classroom. If they were wearing Alabama Auburn colors, I was wearing Clemson. And so I always wanted to go.
And sure enough, it was the only school I applied to. Probably wouldn't recommend to this day and age. It's definitely a tough application process these days. But I actually ended up going to Clemson, was accepted, and was so honored to be a tour guide for the university. I was also on the dance team.
I was a Clemson Tiger dancer and was in a sorority. I did all the things, as you would say, in college and really had the best experience and such a fulfilling one at that, where I actually got to invest in the next generation of future tigers and share the love that I had for Clemson. Absolutely.
So did you finish a degree there? I did. I did. So I graduated with a bachelor of science degree in marketing and a minor in biological sciences with hopes of combining those passions of selling and healthcare. I knew that sales was going to be a passion of mine.
One of the organizations I was involved with at Clemson was actually the Sales Innovation Program. And we were partnered with medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies. And I really found my passion for pitching, for pitching products, for pitching myself. And that's kind of where pageantry came into play for me too. I found that I had a skill set that was unique and my pageant background, which I started competing when I was in my teens.
So I was 13 or 14 years old when I stepped onto a pageant stage. But really, the reason I started competing in pageant was rooted in scholarship. I was one of those kids that didn't necessarily have all the funds in the world to go to a four-year university. And I knew I was going to have to work really hard for it. I actually ended up getting the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, which really helped out with my debt when it came to an undergraduate degree.
But also, of course, winning that Miss Volunteer America $50,000. $20,000 scholarship ensured that I am now officially debt-freed, which is a beautiful thing to say at the age of 24. Congratulations. Thank you. For some of us, personal finances aren't just personal.
They include loved ones, neighbors, the communities we call home, and the causes we hold in our hearts. At Thrive Ent, planning your finances is bigger than just money. We help you put your plans into motion and faith into action so you can do more for the ones in your heart. Because sometimes all you need to make a difference is someone to help you make it happen. Thriveent, where money means more.
Connect with us at ThriveEnt.com. How did you get involved in this organization? Yeah, so Miss Volunteer America started about five or six years ago. And what really stood out to me about Miss Volunteer America was the heart. If you've followed pageantry at all, you've probably seen it through the years.
But at the end of the day, in my opinion, I think that the heart for service has really fallen flat in a lot of organizations. And so for us, it's really become the priority.
So we do have this national partnership with the Salvation Army, as well as a fundraising partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as well.
So to have those two national partners to be able to invest in our local, our state, and our national title holders has been something that I always was very attracted to and something that I wanted to be a part of. I had competed in other organizations throughout my life, but I think what really led me to Miss Volunteer America was the reason that I started, and it was because of the service. We have in the Salvation Army, of course, a number of officers that serve on those front lines for us. I would be remiss if I didn't give a big shout out to Major Jerry Friday. He has really fostered this relationship for us.
He has. And I actually was blessed enough to spend a lot of time with Major Jerry Friday down at the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, getting to know his passion for this partnership specifically. There's so many individuals out there like Jerry Friday who care so much about fostering this relationship and ensuring that these young people are encouraged to give back. One of the things I always talk about with people when I talk in schools or when I'm at a fundraising event is just how much you get when you give. To me, that's a message that these young people need to understand at an earlier age.
So let's talk about it. Let's do it. How have you served? Oh my goodness, so many opportunities. I want to talk about one of my first experiences because to me, that's the one that really opened my eyes the most.
And it was one of my first big trips, I would say. And I went to New York City and I was actually able to serve with the Harlem Temple in New York. And so. To me, being the hands and feet in that circumstance, I was able to feed over 400 individuals that day, the homeless, veterans, everyone in that line really inspired me to know my purpose and to know why I was given this incredible blessing of an opportunity. There was a reason it was me.
There was a reason that I was the smiling face that they got to see that day. That experience I will never forget. Berkeley, we believe that you're God's woman for the hour as it relates to this opportunity. And because they've named you our national brand ambassador, I think it's really cool that you can talk about those experiences. And use that platform to leverage opportunity is pretty cool.
Yeah.
And speaking of leveraging opportunity, I want to dive into that because one of my biggest goals this year as the National Brand Ambassador is to encourage our local title holders and state title holders to get involved, not just at Christmas time, but year long. And but speaking of Christmas time, I will go ahead and highlight them because they did an incredible job and really hit the ground running with the bell ringing campaign. And so to see them do that and to post about it and share that with their community, bring their parents, bring their siblings, wear their crown and sash. I mean, it's amazing to think, I wonder how many people that instance inspired to volunteer next year or to volunteer next month. They're the next.
And so, to know that they were making that impact in their communities around the country, everyone from Miss Oregon to Miss Hawaii to Miss Texas, everyone was volunteering. Beautiful. And so, to experience that throughout the month of December, I didn't go home the whole month of December. I was constantly on the road. I was everywhere.
But I was actually with Commissioner Hodder on December 14th for the National Commanders Red Kettle Challenge. And so, to be there with him and ringing the bell was a very special and unique experience, but to see that leveraged throughout the country was really beautiful to watch. When you got into pageants, would you say that you had a mentor, someone that really inspired you or showed you the rope, so to speak?
So I would say that the reason I got involved in pageantry was actually because of dance. It's a little twofold.
So I mentioned earlier I grew up as a competitive dancer and so the pageants that I competed in always had a talent portion of the competition, including Miss Volunteer America. We compete in talent, fitness and wellness, evening gown, and interview. Everything is equally weighted 25% each. And so, talent always stood out to me and really sparked my interest. But also, my mom competed in pageantry back in the day, and she actually competed in the Miss Texas organization.
So, everything's bigger in Texas, as they say. But she just has a heart of gold. I'll share a little bit of her testimony too, because I think it may resonate with a lot of our listeners.
So, my mom actually is battling stage four metastatic breast cancer. She got that diagnosis my senior year of college.
So, growing up, I took for granted the opportunities that I had to serve with my mom, to be mentored by her. And so, now to think that she's been my inspiration throughout this entire journey has been really, really special. I serve for a reason, I serve for a purpose, and I know that God has His hand on her throughout this entire journey, but I also know that He has His hand on our family in that process as well. But she inspires me every single day to get up and make a difference and put a Smile on someone's face because she talks about all the time how, you know, when I come home from an appearance and tell her about the experience I had with a little girl or show her the pictures that we took that day or the videos, it brings a smile to her face. And so knowing that I can bring that smile to her face is what really inspires me to keep going.
Yeah.
Oh, I love that. It sounds like you want to be a lot like your mommy. I sure do. It's cool. I sure do.
And I feel very blessed to have two parents in my life that have invested those skills in me and that ability in me to share his light with others because they've been that light for me throughout my life. Beautiful. That's beautiful. Berkeley, I just want to know how you chose the Salvation Army as the place where you wanted to serve. Miss Volunteer America chose the Salvation Army for many reasons, but I feel like the missions of both of our organizations really do align so perfectly in the fact that.
Our mission is to serve and empower our communities, empower our young people to get involved and to serve others. And so to think that this partnership is only about a year old, I cannot wait to see the success that we have for years to come. Why would you say it's important to use a platform like this? to encourage volunteering. Mm.
I think that it all starts with a purpose. And for me, my purpose has always been to serve. With a father in the military, I think that servant leadership has always been very important to me. But one thing that I really want to capitalize on is the core values of the Air Force, which is something that I was taught at a very early age. And that's integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.
For me, I've lived by those three pillars my entire life. And if we can embody those pillars for our young people to get involved, find something you're passionate about, find a purpose, I think that having a partnership with the Salvation Army is one way to get your foot in the door and find that purpose. And as I mentioned earlier in the interview, you get so much when you give. And so if you just take that leap of faith, I'll be completely honest, there have been so many opportunities this year where I have been in experiences where I haven't been in those situations before, but taking that leap of faith and knowing for a fact that you were there for a reason is really important. Yeah.
Wow. Berkeley, you are a light and I love the fact that you use your platform for something bigger than yourself. But God bless you and the Miss Volunteer America organization. How can people get in touch with Miss Volunteer America or learn more about Berkeley Bryant? Absolutely.
So, you should definitely give us a follow on social media.
So, if you're on Instagram, follow Miss Volunteer America Page, P-A-G, or you can follow us on Facebook, Miss Volunteer America Pageant, or on our website at missvolunteeramerica.net. The Salvation Army's mission, doing the most good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to offer your support. You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmysoundcast.org.
Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life. Right now. These are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words of life.
Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We want to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeeaudio.com where you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. They have shows about prayer, Bible studying, parenting, and more. Thanks again for listening.
We'll see you next time. I'm Billy Yancey, entrepreneur, fitness cowboy, father, retired Navy cornerback, and now podcast host. Listen to my new show, Billy and the GOAT on Life Audio. Happy listening. The Historical Jesus Podcast is the sweeping saga of the life and times of Galilean Jesus of Nazareth, as well as the faith, religion, and church founded to honor and disseminate his acts and teachings.
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