Colin Vanden Berg

Colin was born on July 16, 1991 with a very complex congenital heart defect, manifesting in several different heart defects at once, including Transposition of the Great Vessels, Complex Endocardial Cushion Defect, Pulmonary Valve Atresia, Mitral Valve Insufficiency, and Tachycardia.  He had to have a shunt placed as a newborn, and underwent open heart surgeries at six months and two years old to keep him alive.

Colin is a sophomore at Ursinis College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.  He will study English and hopes to be a high school English teacher and maybe one day write a novel.  He was given the JP McCaskey Award as the top high school English student in his high school class.

In high school he was very active in the music department including concert band, marching band, jazz band, and percussion ensemble.  He was also a member of the school’s newspaper for three years, was the Sports Editor his junior year, and the Co-Editor-in-Chief his senior year.  Colin also enjoys watching sports and reading books.