Most people talk to their public officials about taxes, parking tickets, or other town events. Yet some students are speaking with the Deputy Mayor of Pleasantville about whether or not Tim Tebow is any good.
Mindy Berard is a sports enthusiast representing the Village of Pleasantville in Dr. Michelle Pulaski-Behling’s sports media class. Despite her position of power in town, she shares the exact same debating platform as 12 other sports fans at Pace.
“I can see that most people in the village would not be surprised that I was in a sports media class,” Berard said. “You’re asking me to listen to sports talk radio for class, I do it anyway, to do all of these things in this class is fun.”
Students did not take notice of Berard until the always-awkward first class icebreaker. The Deputy Mayor told the class a story about meeting Ryan Lochte at a charity event. Her account of Lochte’s personality caught the interest of fellow classmates. One student who took notice of Berard’s participation was senior communications major Kevin Scott.
“It is kind of cool to see how much she cares about sports,” Scott said. “I think she knows what she is talking about, she is a fan.”
Berard’s love of sports transcends the classroom, and her interactions with professional athletes would make the most devout fans envious. Berard met New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora at an NFL pop up store opening in Manhattan this past spring.
The Deputy Mayor called her father, who is a long time Giants fan, and told him that she was speaking with Osi Umenyiora. She then handed Umenyiora the phone and the defensive end spoke to her father on the phone for five minutes.
“He (Umenyiora) is a real class act,” Berard said. “When he handed me the phone back, my father said ‘I can die now.’ It was just a really nice thing to do.”
When Berard was elected to be the Deputy Mayor of Pleasantville for the second time in 2011, getting her master’s degree in public administration remained in her interests. All the while, Berard’s fandom of sports has been seen by the communities of Pleasantville and Pace alike.
“I use sports to make a connection with people,” Berard said. “I need to make them comfortable; I use sports to facilitate relationships.”
The Deputy Mayor is trying to foster a greater relationship between Pace and the village she calls home. Berard is currently working with Dr. Pulaski-Behling to set up an internship opportunity for students at PCTV. Students at the station would be able to cover local sports throughout Pleasantville. Plans to establish this internship for school credit are still in the developing stages, yet Berard is confident both sides will agree to make it happen.
Despite her responsibilities as Deputy Mayor and as a Pace student, Berard cheers for her Miami Dolphins just as loud as the 7,000 residents of Pleasantville cheer for the Jets and Giants.