Waking early, Isa Berardo makes rallies happen

Performing in front of hundreds of students, the rally commission rouses wild laughter with pun-filled jokes. Each movement and each line has been practiced over and over again, up to just that morning. As tutorial ends and the crowd clears out, senior rally commissioner Isa Berardo is usually hit with a wave of exhaustion. Her fatigue is the result of practicing and planning from 6 p.m. to around 10:30 p.m. the night before, and from 6 a.m. to 9:25 a.m. the morning of the rally.

“I love putting on rallies and being able to contribute to the spirit and energy at Saratoga,” Berardo said. “Having to wake up early isn't something I groan about; it's all part of being on the commission and doing what we do.”

To prepare for each rally, she works with the rest of the rally commission every Tuesday in the weeks leading up to the event, as well as every day the week of. The commission then goes through two final runs the day before and the day of the rally.

Berardo joined the commission near the end of her freshman year after she was inspired by “how fun all the commissioners looked doing [the rally].” In her three years as part of the commission, she has played roles such as Willy Wonka, an avatar and Darth Vader.

“I think rally has a bright future at Saratoga and I would like to leave it that way at the end of the year,” Berardo said.