Celebrating the Graduating Class of 2025: Christina Berg

The University of San Diego would like to congratulate all of our wonderful students who are graduating this year. We will be spotlighting students from across campus, sharing their educational journeys leading up to commencement.

Christina Berg is an acting lieutenant at the San Diego Police Department, where she's worked for more than 17 years. This weekend, she graduates with a master's from USD's Law Enforcement & Public Safety Leadership program.

For most of her career she's worked in patrol, and she saw LEPSL as a tool for the next phase of her professional growth.

"The higher up you go (in command), the wider your lens is. But if you start out with a wider lens as an officer, imagine how wide it gets as you grow," she said. "The LEPSL program really opened my eyes and widened my perspective."

Berg's husband also works in law enforcement, where odd hours are the norm. Early in their relationship, balancing home life around rotating shifts was easy enough, but once the two had children that posed a new challenge. With some teamwork, though, they've made that work too, Berg said. Her husband, whose shift is later in the day, makes the kids breakfast and takes them to school. Christina, who works mornings, picks them up and takes them to all the different sports teams they're a part of.

"For some people, it's hard to juggle a lot, but I like to juggle - just not literally," Berg said with a laugh. "There are some tired days. But any mom will tell you we're tired all the time. So we're kind of used to it, it's fine."

Berg decided to throw something else onto her plate when she began pursuing her master's. The online program provided her flexibility, but she'd still have to be strategic in how she managed her time between work, parenting and school. Most nights, she said, she'd do schoolwork once the kids went to bed. She used whatever freetime she had to get ahead on weekly assignments.

There were some nerves, she said, when she turned in her first paper ... but then it came back with a good grade. A sigh of relief, and a realization: she could do this.

Berg went on to become an exemplary student in the LEPSL program, earning high grades and several awards.

As she prepares for commencement, Berg feels a sense of accomplishment - for getting a degree, but also for setting an example for her three daughters.

"I'm really proud of myself for finishing the program, for finishing it harder than when I started," she said. "If you put your mind to anything, you can do anything. And I truly believe that."