Shelbi Berry's life took an unexpected turn when she stumbled into the world of musical theater. Hailing from Indianapolis, she is a Purdue Global alumna and a graduate of Perry Meridian High School and Marian University. While taking voice lessons at Marian, she was offered an audition for "The Addams Family" and took a leap of faith. Thanks to her talent and jet-black hair, she landed the role of Wednesday Addams and never looked back. "I think it was more the stage fright that kept me from really committing, which made me think I wasn't good enough for years," Berry said. "I really enjoyed the role of Wednesday."

After Years of Performing

After several more years of appearing in plays and musicals across central Indiana, Berry packed her bags and set her sights on Broadway and the New York City theater scene. She graduated from Marian with a bachelor's degree in music education and philosophy and a minor in psychology. Continuing to work on her craft, she got calls for shows and kept improving.Berry also had a passion for psychology and discovered Purdue Global through a conversation with her mom. She enrolled and started classes, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. "I got to finish my master's over the pandemic while shows were closed," she said. "I could only focus on my classes." The pandemic also meant no in-person commencement ceremony in 2021, but Berry was selected to sing the national anthem for the May commencement, which was recorded and placed into the ceremony. The family went to Purdue University's main campus and took photos in her cap and gown with her younger sister, Carli, who graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science from Purdue Polytechnic Institute.Berry enjoyed aspects of her Purdue Global experience, such as having access to resources, faculty, and classmates. "The coursework was great. I liked the way the classes were taught. You could see someone speaking to you. Everyone was involved in the class," she said. "In my undergraduate classes, I didn't like statistics because I didn't understand it. But in my grad program, I loved it. I loved doing research in my program."

Setting Out for New York

In October 2023, Berry moved from Indianapolis to New York City. "My No. 1 passion in life is understanding human beings, why they do the things the way they do, why they think the way they do, which is why I love philosophy so much, but I don't think philosophy can stand alone. I picked psychology because it's more scientifically tested. You can see, you can test why people do things the way they do," she said.Using her Purdue Global psychology degree, background, and expertise, she assists in character and story development and analysis. Shortly after arriving in New York, she secured an agent and began building her network of contacts and resources in person and on social media. "I'm an extrovert, but I've had to become more extroverted. I've had to get better at communicating with people on social media because that's how people here communicate," she said. "Everything moves so fast. You have to keep up with people and keep the networking fields open because you never know when one thing will lead you to another thing."Berry feels supported by the community and network she has built. Her three roommates are all actors who support and cheer for those in the creative art space. Like many actors starting out, she has held several jobs, including a simulated patient, bartender, Pilates studio manager, and chess tutor for children.At one point, she became overwhelmed but learned to look at the city differently and ask for help from others. She's had several callbacks and is still submitting and applying for auditions. She's honing her craft with classes, workshops, and practices. "I've been told by a lot of people it's a numbers game. Everyone who moves to New York are the top best three people in their city; we're all here," Berry said. "It's about being in the right place at the right time, knowing the right people — a lot of work behind the scenes. The only thing you have control of is being prepared."