Hi, all!
My name is David van den Berg, and I’m an old-school Floridian. I grew up near Orlando, but I spent a lot of time growing up in the swamp. Biggest gator I’ve ever seen was over 14 feet. Smallest? Maybe 6 inches, and it sat on my shoulder. Not making this up.
I went to Rollins College for undergrad, majoring in both Anthropology and Religious Studies, with a minor in Archaeology. After graduating, I backpacked around Europe for a few months before coming to Los Angeles to work as an actor.
There was a lot that I loved about working as an actor. I did shoots for Nissan and Salesforce. I shot a casino commercial (shoutout to the Santa Ana Star) where my ‘work’ was just lounging by a pool. Unreal. I even had a commercial air in the NBA finals.
But as much as I loved acting, there was so much more to it that left me feeling unfulfilled. So I looked around, evaluated my choices, and decided on Loyola.
I haven’t looked back.
There’s a lot that I’m excited to share with you about my experiences here, but I’ll get to that later.
I still love to travel, especially to places to enjoy the natural beauty. A few of my recent(ish) trips include: Maui, the Dry Tortugas, the Keys, Captiva Island, Las Vegas, and Carmel. I’ve been itching to go to Iceland, but Covid squashed that idea.
I’ve also maintained my creative outlet. I am Editor-in-Chief of Prometheus Dreaming, a literary journal. I write as well. This past semester, my poems have appeared (or are forthcoming) in the American Journal of Poetry, Waxing and Waning, The Ilanot Review, South85 Journal, and Poetry South. Check them out!
