The Art of Seeing Every Child: Berkowitz Family Names Arts Spaces at Center for Student Life
Inspired by their family’s experience at Gulliver, Sara and Alexander Berkowitz P ’33 ’35 ’40 recently made a leadership gift to name the Berkowitz Family Stage and the Berkowitz Family Arts Wing, located inside the Center for Student Life at the Marian C. Krutulis PK-8 Campus.
Their support of Gulliver’s arts spaces is rooted in a simple reality: with three children – Hunter, Aria, and Eva – no two paths look the same.
Early on, they recognized they were raising kids with very different interests and set out to find a school that could truly meet each child where they are. As a longtime Miami family who values education and knew of Gulliver’s strong reputation in the community, Sara and Alexander found exactly that.
This month, the Berkowitz family shared their experience with fellow parents while speaking at the final Parents’ Association meeting of the school year, reflecting on the many ways Gulliver has supported each of their children’s unique journeys.
“What we found most remarkable was that, as big as the school’s mission and goals are, there is equal or greater care and focus on each child’s unique gifts and maximizing their potential,” said Sara and Alexander.
Hunter, 11, is drawn to robotics, engineering, and science, and has recently taken up beekeeping in his backyard. He also enjoys sketching, pottery, and theatre. Aria, 9, loves science, reading, drawing, and gymnastics, and is excited to join singing and theatre electives in the years ahead. Eva, 4, is thriving in school, learning her letters, making friends, and always eager to perform whenever she can.
That balance – between a large, dynamic institution and deeply personal attention to every student – quickly defined this family’s experience. It also brought a sense of reassurance that shaped their connection to the community, with their kids feeling like Gulliver became a home away from home.
“We immediately got the feeling that, as parents, we were not in this alone – one of the greatest gifts a parent can receive – and that our children were being valued and appreciated, nurtured as whole human beings, and fostered with a lifelong and deep-rooted love for learning.”
Inspired by their experience, the Berkowitz family chose to name the Berkowitz Family Stage and the Berkowitz Family Arts Wing at the Center for Student Life at the Marian C. Krutulis PK-8 Campus. It is only because of the support of families like the Berkowitz’s, that Gulliver was able to lay the foundation for continued investment through The Next 100: The Centennial Campaign for Gulliver.
“We chose to support the arts because we believe that artistic expression is not a superfluous secondary appendage to education but is instead foundational for a thriving society,” they said.
Their belief in the arts aligns naturally with what Gulliver does best, especially as the school celebrates its Centennial and looks toward the future.
In their words: “Gulliver is excellent at crafting the broad strokes and the fine strokes, synthesizing the journey of the past hundred years and creating an inspiring vision for the institution’s next hundred years, while simultaneously curating an education for each one of our children and guiding them to a fully realized future.”
To learn more about making a gift to Gulliver and The Next 100, please contact Shivani Joshi P ‘35, Chief Advancement Officer, at [email protected].
