BARR Center Founder and Executive Director Angela Jerabek Shares Her Unique College Path During Her Address at the College of St. Benedict’s 2025 Commencement Ceremony

St. Joseph, MN – Angela Jerabek started her freshman year at the College of St. Benedict as a pre-med major, because she wanted to be a doctor. Then, she was a business major, because business felt “very practical.” And then, she landed on music education.

“I imagine some colleges would have said, ‘Come back when you’ve figured yourself out,’ Jerabek said. “You probably already know what St. Ben’s said: ‘How can we help?’ My professors were happy to create independent study classes and the staff walked me through the changes. The message came through loud and clear: “You’re going to do something good in your life. You’re going to succeed. We see your dignity and your purpose, and we’re with you.”

Jerabek graduated from the College of St. Benedict with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 1990. She started her career as a high school guidance counselor, but soon realized something had to change.

“Too many of our students were failing, and I knew the problem wasn’t the amazing staff I was working with. The education model was broken, and there had to be a better way,” Jerabek said.

She launched the BARR Model in one school in Minnesota in 1998 – and is now used in more than 375 schools across the United States. More than 400,000 students have benefited from the BARR Model since Jerabek created it more than 25 years ago.

“That was a journey I couldn’t have foreseen. What I see today is how St. Ben’s equipped me for that journey,” she said.

There are three things that helped Jerabek succeed at St. Ben’s, and they all come back to the Benedictine Values that are so present throughout the campus. One is the liberal arts education, and how she was taught to think. The second is building relationships, which is now a pivotal part of the BARR model. And the third is how you use both that education and those relationships to serve a larger purpose.

“There’s an idea that goes back to a parable from the 1st Century BC — that got a lot more popular when it showed up in a Spider Man movie. It’s the idea that with great power goes great responsibility,” Jerabek said. “Well, I’m here to tell you that what you’ve learned here is going to give you power — the power to navigate and thrive in a complicated and fast-changing world. So what are you going to use that power for? You have the power to change this world. You truly do. And you’ll use it to change it for the better.”

Jerabek shared her story, and this message, during the commencement address for the College of St. Benedict’s 2025 graduating class, which is composed of 352 graduate women and 15 nursing master’s and doctoral students.