Senior Spotlight: Natural Nik

Senior Nik Bergill is not your average Exonian. As a student, leader and athlete, Bergill is involved in all facets of Academy life.Not only is Bergill an Admissions Head Tour Guide and a member of the Discipline Committee, but he is also a leader on the DRAMAT board, member of the Environmental Action Committee and member of the H4-Health Club. Apart from extra-curriculars, Bergill is a varsity cyclist and guitarist.Bergill’s early interest in PEA roots from his mother, who grew up in Exeter and now works at the school. After his family moved to town in hopes of later attending the Academy, Bergill became influenced by PEA’s diverse community and students. “I didn’t know a whole lot of [the students], but the kids that I did know inspired me to be like them,” Bergill said.Drawn by Harkness and the experience of eating at dining hall, going to movies at the forum and “getting to see all those big kids”, Bergill was ready to attend the school. It wasn’t long before he was preparing for his first courses as an Exeter student.As the son of a faculty member, Bergill didn’t know how he would be perceived amongst his peers. “I was really worried in the beginning that people would think I shouldn’t be here, and I only got in because of my mom,” Bergill said. “I realized I’m not the smartest kid in the class, but I’m definitely not struggling the most.”This feeling prompted Bergill to work harder and “be more than a kid that’s just scraping by.” It wasn’t long before Bergill began to make his mark in class.“He’s a thinker, he also remembers details very well, and he comes to class in a good mood, ready to enjoy what we’re doing,” Spanish instructor Fermin Perez said. “To be in class, that’s important. He’s a guy who brings a good attitude. There’s always something about him that’s interesting.”Bergill is glad to have come to Exeter. “I’m grateful for this opportunity and getting to try everything. I’ll look back at the moments that were unscripted, where I just went out and did something with my friends. We just tried new stuff.”By trying “new stuff,” Bergill was led down a path that introduced him to the very clubs that he does today. In middle school, he took up improv, and continued this activity at Exeter. “I like making people laugh, and I like laughing. That’s just been a blast, being silly, and not being afraid to screw up. When you’re in the moments, you’d be surprised what comes out of your mouth.”Perez attended a workshop where Bergill had written a play and made the students perform it. “I know he likes theater and Nik had to be quiet and give others a chance, and he was very good about it,” Perez said. “Nik is the type of person who always tries to find the positive things in life. He looks at things with the glass half full instead of half empty. He’s not shy or afraid to say weird things, so that’s good.”Upper Jad Seligman, who works with Bergill on DRAMAT described him as “one of the best kids [he] know[s].”“Nik is friendly, funny, and a passionate guy. He’s the type of person who makes you want to do something new,” Seligman said. “Nik got me started in DRAMAT and I can’t thank him more for him.” Seligman added, “Nik is the kind of kid who knows exactly what to do. He’s a clear leader.”Upper Josh Martinez agreed. “Nick's the fun dad of the board—he’s as goofy as he is serious,” he said. “Which is the ideal mix when it comes to theater; he knows how to make a show the best it can be, in the most entertaining, yet efficient, way as possible.”Bergill is just as dedicated to the Environmental Action Committee as he is to DRAMAT. “[EAC] is very scary sometimes, and depressing, but consoling to know those kids are going to be doing really cool things,” Bergill said. “I enjoy going there each week and talking about stuff that matters.” This dedication to the club compels him to pursue the activity in college.Last year, Bergill spent a term at the Mountain School, a farm in rural Vermont. “Mountain camp was work in a challenging way, as I had to work with people very different than me and saw things differently than me,” Bergill said. “It made me like Exeter more. Like being away, woah, I really love a lot of these things about Exeter and love it a lot.”After his experience in mountain school, Bergill has made a continued effort to interact more with the people on campus. “At mountain camp you knew everyone,” Bergill said. “It really threw me off when I got back how people would look away, or look at their phones, or even take a different path so they didn’t have to say hi to a stranger, so that sort of frustrates me now, but it makes me work harder to say hi to whoever.”Bergill also enjoys playing the guitar. “I love music, so when I started to play guitar, getting to take the songs of somebody else and getting to play them is just another thing that I could do,” he said.As a tour guide, Bergill is gregarious and welcoming. “You don’t meet people like him everyday,” fellow Head Tour Guide senior Mackenzie Lawrence said. “He always brings insightful comments to class discussions, yet still manages to easily brighten the mood with jokes in class. In our head tour guide meetings, I can see how much he not only enjoys his extracurricular activities, but also how hard of a worker he is.”Despite all that he’s accomplished and participated in at Exeter, Bergill’s favorite memory is from prep fall. Bergill and his best friends went around “planking” and ended up blocking the entire path going into the student center from the academic quad. “Within five minutes, Dean Mischke and a security guard showed up to tell us to move,” Bergill said.Moments like these stick with Bergill. “The times where I forget everything I have to do here,” he said.