Thrive Scholarships Give Students Both Funds and Confidence

Before she got Berklee’s Thrive Scholarship, Ally Evans was working a total of 60 hours a week at three different jobs—at J.P. Licks, a local bakery, and Berklee student employment—in addition to holding down a full course load. Despite all her work, she knew she probably wasn’t going to be able to afford another semester.

Before he got the scholarship, Larry Perry was “almost positive” he wouldn’t be able to return to Berklee for his third semester, and had a hard time concentrating on schoolwork and other projects when it seemed unlikely that they’d amount to a degree.  

Josh Witt, before his award, approached his education as a semester-by-semester prospect, never quite settling in or getting comfortable at Berklee when he knew his time here could end after each term. 

These students’ stories are just three of the many from the nearly 500 recipients of the Thrive Scholarships whose Berklee careers were likely saved as the result of the awards. 

Launched in 2018, the Thrive Scholarship provides aid to students at Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee who have demonstrated financial need, a good academic record, and are in at least their third semester, among other qualifying factors. All students are automatically considered for a Thrive Scholarship and do not apply for them. 

“[The Thrive Scholarship] proved to me that, no, this is where you need to be. It really made me feel like I was a part of the Berklee family...that people were paying attention.”

—Larry Perry

Perry, a sixth-semester songwriting and music business major, was on the cusp of his third semester when he was notified that he had received the award. He was in the hospital with food poisoning when he found out. “I felt sick physically, but I was elated,” he says. “It was such a relief.” In addition to giving him the financial means to stay in school, the award gave him a sense that he was a valued member of the Berklee community. 

“A lot of the time in my first year...I felt like an underdog in so many different forms. It was a lot of things around me that seemed to be telling me that I didn’t belong, but that award, that scholarship, it proved to me that, no, this is where you need to be,” Perry says. “It really made me feel like I was a part of the Berklee family...that people were paying attention.”

Idalis Irizarry, an eighth-semester music education major from Connecticut, also says that the scholarship made her feel recognized. “They noticed my constant hard work and extracurricular/leadership involvement at the college, and rewarded me for it,” she says. This recognition has inspired her to work through her challenges, especially during the pandemic, and has given her the confidence to “go big.” Since receiving the award, she’s helped to start a nonprofit, Colorful Bridges, to bring arts education, therapeutic music, and mentorship to young people in need in Boston. 

Witt, too, says that getting the scholarship had a profound impact on his mindset: “I just felt comfortable in this environment…I felt stable, you know, like I had some sense of control.” An eighth-semester performance major, he’s now set his sights on graduation this spring, and is working on his senior recital with his a cappella group, Josh and the Wittness. 

For Evans, who was working 60 hours a week, the scholarship allowed her to leave two of her jobs, reducing her workweek to 15 hours, and to focus on school, leaving her significantly more relaxed. 

“I was always stressed out and working, and always awake. I wasn’t sleeping much because of my schedules,” she says, describing how some days she’d have to make the choice between going to work or going to class. Now, her grades have risen to an A average, from a B average, and she can more fully participate in campus activities.

Since receiving the Thrive Scholarship, she’s released new music and taken part in shows. “I was not able to do anything for two years,” says Evans, a ninth-semester songwriting major from Dallas. “So [the scholarship] put me in a really comfortable position where I was like, ‘Okay, I can go audition for that show. I can dedicate time to the show.’”

Evans says that Thrive’s focus on providing academic advising has also helped her stay on track to graduate. “That was like the best thing ever because they made sure that all of our ducks were in a row for when we graduated. I never thought that I would be able to have someone literally care so much about me,” she says of her advisors. 

Perry, who initially felt he didn’t belong at Berklee, now says he feels he’s been able to experience Berklee “to the fullest.” He released a single, has been in the Sylvia Rhone tribute show, and is working on an album in which he addresses mental health issues. As Perry describes his achievements, from his home in Atlanta, behind him are a couple of decorations he’s hung up. One is a Berklee pennant, another is a poster. It reads, “Don’t Quit.”