Class of 2015: Ivy-League-bound, full of promise

On Michael Bervell’s Facebook page, there’s a message from one high achiever to another.

“After months of debating, I finally committed to attend school at Harvard University!!!!” he wrote in his May 1 post. “Sorry Joel Bervell, looks like we’re rivals now.”

With his Ivy League choice, Michael is following in his scholarly family’s footsteps. Older brother Joel will be a junior at Yale University this fall. Their sister is another academic superstar in this trio of Kamiak High School alums. Rachel Bervell is a Harvard graduate about to start at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. And she recently earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University.

In picking Harvard, Michael Bervell joins an elite group among Snohomish County members of the class of 2015. And he got to choose. The 17-year-old was also accepted at his brother’s school, Yale; Princeton University; the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; the University of California at both Los Angeles and Berkeley; and the University of Washington.

Michael graduated from Kamiak June 5 with a 3.83 grade point average. He served as his school’s ASB president this year. In another leadership role, he was the 2014 governor of Evergreen Boys State, an annual conference sponsored by the American Legion.

With an eye on medical school, he plans to major in neuroscience at Harvard, with minors in economics and computer science.

There must be a secret, a Bervell family formula for success. Michael’s parents, Theresa and Joseph Bervell, came to the U.S. from the West African country of Ghana. Michael’s older siblings were born in Canada. Joseph Bervell is a civil engineer and his wife works in privacy compliance for Providence Health &Services.

Michael sums up his parents’ approach simply: “They pushed us,” he said, adding that in Ghana, both of his parents were raised in large families that prized education.

The Bervells kept their youngest child in the Mukilteo School District, even after moving to the Snohomish area when Michael was in sixth grade. Every day after school, he walked to the Mukilteo Library, where he studied until his parents picked him up.

By third grade, he had started in the Summit Program, part of the Mukilteo district’s highly capable program. And by the end of eighth grade at Explorer Middle School, he had taken first-year algebra, geometry and biology. That left time at Kamiak to pursue AP science and math courses.

He was awarded a $2,500 National Achievement Scholarship, part of the National Merit Scholarship program, recognizing outstanding black scholars. Among his many other scholarships, totaling thousands of dollars, are awards from the Elks National Foundation, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, the Evergreen Boys State Foundation and Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Academics haven’t taken all his time.

With his siblings, he is involved with Hugs for Ghana, a student-run nonprofit founded by Rachel Bervell during her 2006-07 school year at Kamiak. Hugs for Ghana got its start when Rachel visited her parents’ homeland and saw a way to serve. Back home, she launched a stuffed-animal drive at Kamiak. Her grassroots group found ways for gifts to be delivered to kids in Ghana’s hospitals and orphanages.

Today, all three Bervell siblings serve on the nonprofit’s board. Their effort has grown to gathering and shipping donated sporting goods, school supplies and books. Michael organized Ghanaian culture nights as fund-raisers to support Hugs for Ghana, a nonprofit that now has partner schools.

In the academic realm, Michael leans toward math and science, but he added “it’s important to be well-rounded.” He plays piano, has played drums in the jazz band and marching band, and is a fan of Gershwin music and jazz great Dave Brubeck. Among his favorite novels are “The Book Thief” and “A Prayer for Owen Meany.”

Faith is central to his family’s life. Every Sunday, he attends two churches. In the morning, the Bervells worship at Bethany Christian Assembly in Everett. Sunday evenings, they go to the Church of Pentecost, a Ghanian church in Seattle, where Michael plays drums.

His work and volunteer experience includes a summer with Seattle’s Woodland Park ZooCorps, a stint with Teens in Public Service helping the Lifelong AIDS Alliance in Seattle and other nonprofits, and involvement with Housing Hope in Snohomish County.

“He’s done really, really well,” said Theresa Bervell, a proud mom.

By late August, Michael will be settled in his Harvard dorm. From there, he’s not sure where life will lead.

“I will definitely call home all the time,” he said.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Judge sentences man for role in human smuggling ring

Jesus Ortiz-Plata was arrested in Everett in May 2024. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced him to 15 months in prison.

Bill Wood, right, Donnie Griffin, center right, and Steve Hatzenbeler, left, listen and talk with South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman, center left, during an Edmonds Civic Roundtable event to discuss the RFA annexation on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds community discusses annexation into the regional fire authority

About 100 residents attended the Edmonds Civic Roundtable discussion in preparation for the April special election.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens schools bond leading early; Arlington voters reject latest levy attempt

A $314 million bond looks to pass while Arlington’s attempts to build a new Post Middle School again appear to take a step back.

The second floor of the Lynnwood Crisis Center on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Funding gap leaves Lynnwood without a crisis center provider

The idea for the Lynnwood crisis center began in 2021 after a 47-year-old died by suicide while in custody at Lynnwood Municipal Jail.

Three seriously injured after head-on collision on Highway 522

The crash between Monroe and Maltby happened around 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.