Dream Big Profile - Lindsey Berg

A born leader best describes setter Lindsey Berg of the University of Minnesota Gophers? volleyball team. From lone captain her junior year to co-captain this year, Berg relishes the opportunity to lead.

?Being a leader is a natural task for me. It is not something that I think about all the time or have to work on in order to be a good leader,? says Berg, a resident of Honolulu, Hawaii. ?I feel blessed to have the qualities that I have and enjoy every minute of it.?

As a captain, Berg has learned that people respond and listen in their own individual ways. To be effective, Berg has had to figure out the best ways to communicate with them.

Berg is one of the premiere setters in the Big Ten Conference and in the nation. In 2001, she has the opportunity to become the Big Ten?s all-time leader in assists. Her ferocious jump serve led her to become the only player in Conference history to lead the Big Ten in service aces in consecutive seasons, three years to date.  

Berg graduates this December and plans to play volleyball for as long as she can. Sports has taught her many positive things. ?Not only are sports fun, but they teach you things that are hard to find in other places,? she says. ?I learned leadership, teamwork, patience, intensity, competitiveness, time management ... and I could go on and on. The experience that I have, and playing a Division I sport in college, will stick with me for life.?

This includes pushing through the tough times when an athlete?s time is scarce. ?There are days when you are really tired, because you had a game the night before and then stayed up studying for a test. Then, you have to practice after that,? says Berg. ?But you learn to push through. You learn how to make the most out of everything you do.? From this, Berg has learned confidence and self-belief, an attitude to dream big.  

?If you have a dream, keep dreaming it and never give up on that dream. Never think a dream is too big for you; you are capable of anything, and all dreams that you have should be big,? says Berg. ?And, if you are not dreaming big, then you could be missing out on an opportunity that could be out there for you. Never stop dreaming, and those dreams had better be big.?

Good advice from a born leader.