When you walk into Ms. Rikelle Berry’s choir room, it’s clear how much she values what she does. Between the music, the laughter, and the focused energy of her students, it’s evident that teaching choir and theatre is more than a job; it’s her calling. She spent two years teaching at a middle school in Greeley before joining Mead High School, where she has now taught for eight years. In total, she has been in education for a decade. But surprisingly, teaching wasn’t always part of her plan.
“I actually wanted to be a pediatrician,” she said. “Or maybe a child psychologist. I was going to go to CSU for pre-med, but then I accidentally auditioned for music.” That one “accident” ended up changing everything. After being offered a scholarship to study music at Colorado Mesa University, Ms. Berry realized that while she enjoyed performing music, her true passion was for teaching.
Ms. Berry grew up in Loveland, Colorado, with her parents and two older half-sisters—one 18 years older and the other 14 years older. “It was kind of like being an only child,” she said. “But when my nephew was born, he became more of a little brother.” Growing up as the youngest in her family, Ms. Berry spent a lot of time traveling with her parents to nearby states such as Nevada, California, and Arizona. “It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was special,” she said. “Those were some of my favorite memories.”
Her childhood was also filled with activity. She played both soccer and basketball, making varsity as a freshman in both sports, while also participating in choir, theater, Student Council, and National Honor Society. Despite her busy schedule, she graduated with a 4.14 GPA and ranked 11th in her class of over 300 students.
When asked if she had always been outgoing, Ms. Berry nodded. “Yeah, I’ve always been social. I loved making people laugh. But there’s that age in high school where you’re supposed to be ‘cool,’ and you’re not supposed to like certain things. It took me a while to realize it’s okay to like what I like, even if other people think it’s weird.”
That perspective, to be unapologetically yourself, is something she now passes on to her students. “Those embarrassing moments you think about all the time? No one else remembers them,” she said. “You shouldn’t be afraid to be who you are. Life is better when you stop worrying about what other people think.”
Today, Ms. Berry’s life looks a little different from what it did when she first started teaching. She is married and has a two-and-a-half-year-old son named Roken Wynn. His name carries special meaning for her family. “It’s a combination of our family’s names,” she explained. “R-O from my parents, K from mine, and E-N from my husband’s name, Trent. Then Wynn is from Trent’s mom’s name, Wynnell.”
Although her path to teaching was unexpected, Ms. Berry’s dedication to education and the performing arts has made a lasting impact. Through her work, she continues to foster creativity, confidence, and community among her students, proving that sometimes, the best careers are the ones we don’t plan for.
