When Cate Dunning walked into Berry College's Dream Maker scholarship luncheon
alongside her father (John Drury), she didn't expect to be moved to tears—multiple times.
But as stories of generosity, resilience and transformation unfolded around the
room, the legacy of her great-grandfather, Neal Q. Pope (1924H), came rushing
back to life in vivid color.
Neal Pope, born in Atlanta in 1904 and orphaned at a young age,
found his way to Martha Berry's School for Boys. There, he worked in the dairy
and discovered the kind of support and structure that would shape not only his
life, but the lives of generations after him. His great-granddaughter Cate had
always heard the family tales—his broom-jumping tricks, his legendary work
ethic, his deep bond with her father. But until that luncheon, she hadn't fully
understood the magnitude of the ripple effect Berry had sparked in her family.
"Without this gathering at Berry a few weeks ago," Cate shared, "the
ripple effect wouldn't have made it to me as strongly. It was a rock skip, but
now it is a tidal wave."
What struck her most was not just the stories of scholarship recipients
and donors, but the connections that surfaced organically. Christian Lewis (2026c),
a football player from Calhoun, Georgia, took the stage to speak—and her Uncle
Tom, a longtime judge in that very town, was misty-eyed with pride. He and
Cate's Aunt Kay joyfully recalled local football moments with a student they
had never met. It was a spontaneous celebration of shared roots and a testament
to the powerful network Berry quietly builds across generations.
After the luncheon, Cate and her father wandered the campus, eventually
arriving at Frost Chapel. A friendly groundskeeper welcomed them inside and
enthusiastically recounted the chapel's design—its intentional Gothic
architecture meant to expose Berry students to culture they might otherwise
only glimpse on a European tour.
"Martha Berry believed in these boys—heart and soul," Cate recalled. "She
equipped them to be somebody and feel comfortable in any setting. What a gift
to be believed in."
This experience inspired Cate to generously sustain her family's support of the
scholarship established in memory of her great-grandparents.
"Martha Berry taught Papaw the value of hard work and how to be.
Papaw did that for my dad. And my dad did that for me," she said.
At Sycamore, the family's farm, there stands a tree they call "Papaw's
tree." Cate's sister was married beneath it. Her father speaks to it. And now,
that tree symbolizes something more than just memory—it stands for legacy, for
gathering, and for the ripple effect Berry put in motion nearly a century ago.
As a designer, Cate often jokes that her work can feel "silly or fluffy,"
but her visit to Berry reframed that belief.
"We are curators of the settings where memories are made," she wrote. "A
living room that fits the people and tells their story sets the stage for new
stories. That is everything."
We thank Cate and the Pope family for renewing their support of Berry
students through the scholarship fund and for sharing their remarkable story.
It's a reminder that legacy isn't just something we inherit—it's something we
actively pass on.
