Made in MKE: Bernard Rahming

Advancing the city by empowering young readers.

Bernard Rahming ’05 was in Haiti playing a series of Olympic qualifiers for the Bahamas National Soccer Team when he witnessed extreme poverty for the first time. It wasn’t his team’s celebrations after winning the match that he remembers most; it was the two ball boys at the water station. “I knew then that I didn’t want to be a professional athlete,” he said. “I wanted to dedicate myself to bigger issues. I wanted to be part of the solution.”

Soon after, Bernard left the University of Vermont and transferred to Marquette University. While finishing his double major in math and psychology, he worked with children with autism and coached youth soccer. After graduation, he became a program manager for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, leading efforts to make music education more accessible and equitable for Black and Brown students in Milwaukee. He developed community partnerships, expanded scholarships for private lessons, and supported programs including jazz and steel band ensembles.

The shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Philando Castile motivated Bernard to reevaluate his career and pursue a master’s degree. He moved to Portland, Oregon for a master’s in community psychology through Concordia University Portland. There, he learned how employment, education, public policy, and nonprofit support are interconnected with a community’s wellbeing, and wrote his thesis on belonging in schools. “I realized how much kids need to feel like they belong in school in order to thrive in college and beyond.” 

Today, Bernard is the development and marketing director at Forward Scholars in Milwaukee, a tutoring program that pairs volunteers with Milwaukee Public Schools students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The pairings last for the entire school year, and volunteers receive training, lesson plans, and dedicated rooms. After eight months of tutoring, students gain an average of two grade levels in reading accuracy and fluency—an important indicator in their likelihood to graduate from high school.

“We’re tackling a big problem,” said Bernard, “but it’s not just on us, or a superintendent, or a principal to fix. We need everybody. We need the community. We need parents and families. We need the support of public policy and businesses because these kids are our future. How do we give them the best chance to succeed?”