1949
Earned bachelor’s in
elementary education
from Brigham Young University
A LEAGUE OF HER OWN:
Q & A WITH MARIAN BERGESON
Long-time MIND Research Institute supporter and board member Marian Bergeson
will receive the Gordon L. Shaw Lifetime Achievement Award
at MIND’s annual gala on November 23, 2013.
1964
Elected to Newport-Mesa Unified
School District Board of Education
1974
Elected to California
State Assembly
Q: What were your early teaching
experiences like?
Q: What’s the greatest opportunity
you see in education today?
Teaching at an all-minority school in
Santa Monica in the mid-1950s was a
very challenging situation. Not much was
expected of kids in those days and that
sort of offended me. I introduced the
kids to science and they really performed
well. I had them building a hands-on
example of the solar system when the
administrators came in, and they were
very impressed.
We have the opportunity in our
communities to cooperate, collaborate
and work together to improve education.
We need to take advantage of the
partnerships with local businesses
and develop new technologies and
tools to better engage students both
young and old. I say “tools” for learning,
because I always think the human
element is important to bring together
new ideas and creativity.
Q: What was it like being a woman
in politics at that time?
Bill presentation to the
California State Assembly
1994
Elected Orange County Supervisor
Women weren’t really considered
politicians then. The prevailing thinking
was, how can a woman go up there and
be effective in smoke-filled roo