Thrive Scholars

We are thrilled to welcome Michelle Agunloye to our #Chicago Advisory Board. Michelle is a Vice President, Community Relations Market Manager within Citi’s Community, Investing, and Development division. She’s a community engagement professional passionate about serving and building meaningful connections. She holds a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Denison University and an AM in Social Work from the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Michelle's career as an engagement and community relations professional is marked by significant achievements. She has led outreach and community development services for over 200 communities within Northeastern Illinois, making a tangible difference in the lives of many. Her service on Young Professional Boards of the Chicago Urban League and Ladder Up further underscores her expertise and commitment. Her extracurricular activities include exploring Chicago’s vibrant neighborhoods and running for fun in her spare time. We're proud to have Michelle join our Chicago team and fully utilize her expertise at Thrive Scholars.

Thrive Scholars is excited to announce the expansion of our Thrive Academies program to Los Angeles at the University of Southern California and to New York at Mercy University, Manhattan Campus. These new additions join our existing Thrive Academies at Amherst College and Northwestern University, bringing our total to four sites nationwide.   Thanks to the unwavering support of our donors, stakeholder community, and dedicated staff, we're creating pathways to higher education and career success for more high-achieving, underrepresented students than ever before. Together, we're dismantling barriers and nurturing a community where every student can flourish. Your commitment is shaping futures.   To our dedicated Scholars currently attending Thrive Academies this summer, we're thrilled to embark on this transformative journey with you. May the coming weeks be filled with growth and discovery, paving the way for you to exceed even your own expectations. Your dedication and resilience inspire us all!   Read more about the expansion of our Thrive Academies. Stay tuned as we share future updates and celebrate the remarkable achievements of our Scholars across all Thrive Academies. https://lnkd.in/gB_6HC7r #ThriveScholars #HigherEducation #CareerSuccess

Last weekend, members of Thrive Scholars Jacksonville Class of 2027, 2028, and 2029 enjoyed time together at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, building community with one another before they embark on their summer journeys. Cheers to summertime!

Earlier this week, our Transforming Workplaces Networking Event at the iconic Guggenheim Museum was an incredible success! We were thrilled to witness the synergy as Thrive Staff, Scholars, and Alumni mingled with over 50 influential leaders from New York's vibrant community. Among them were representatives from Fortune 500 companies and visionary entrepreneurs. Reflecting on the event, one of our Scholars beautifully captured the essence: “It was awe-inspiring to witness the diversity and success represented in one room. I felt truly seen.” A heartfelt thank you goes out to our esteemed New York Board of Directors for their invaluable leadership and sponsorship of the event. Our corporate partners played an instrumental role in bringing this event to life, and we extend our sincere gratitude to them. To the professionals who graciously dedicated their time to learn about Thrive Scholars and explore ways to get involved, we are deeply grateful. Your commitment to our mission fuels our passion to expand and enrich our New York community. If you are interested to learn more about how you can make a difference with Thrive Scholars in New York, please contact Thomas R. Patterson, our New York Executive Director. #ThriveTogether #TransformingWorkplaces #SocialImpact #CommunityBuilding #ThriveScholars #EquityandInclusion

We are excited to announce our collaboration with California Life Sciences (CLS), aimed at expanding the number of high-achieving Scholars we serve in California from under-resourced communities. With CLS by our side, Thrive Scholars is poised to soar to new heights, expanding our impact and unlocking doors of equal access to opportunity for even more talented and deserving students of color.   This partnership is more than just a collaboration; it's a commitment to diversity and inclusion in the life sciences industry to enrich the talent pipeline. Through immersive experiences and invaluable mentorship, we're paving the way for our Scholars to explore the myriad of career possibilities within this dynamic field.   Join us as we embark on this transformative journey with CLS. Together, we're not just changing lives; we're revolutionizing futures. #ThriveScholars #EmpowerDiversity #LifeSciencesLeaders

Over the past few weeks, our Thrive Team members in Jacksonville and Cleveland held Welcome Events for their incoming Scholar cohorts, with 37 Scholars attending both. These talented and hard-working individuals inspired us when they shared their stories, passions, and excitement about beginning their journey with Thrive. We look forward to seeing these and more than 200 additional Scholars from across the country in Amherst this summer! #thrivescholars #scholarwelcome

The Davis Companies, one of Thrive’s longstanding corporate partners in Boston focused on real estate development and private equity, recently hosted several Scholars for a site visit (hard hats and all) at one of their development sites in Brighton, MA. Scholars got an inside view of the process for planning, developing, and building a massive project during a tour and information session with Davis’ VP of Construction, Dan Hughes. This was the first opportunity for these Scholars to visit a construction site. They are excited to see the final result when it is finished later this year. Thank you, Davis, for supporting Thrive with these types of experiential learning opportunities. #thrivepartner

Celebrating a year of excellence with Sedhu Krishnamurthy at Thrive! From the moment Sedhu joined our Chicago Advisory Board, he has been a driving force behind our success. His dedication, passion, and hard work have left an indelible mark on our organization and the lives of our Scholars. Here's to many more milestones together!

Earlier this month, our PNC Scholars, Deja Lee and Jose Toledo, convened at PNC’s Jacksonville, Florida headquarters. There, they met with Chris Kalin, PNC’s North Florida Regional President, and Karen Feagins, VP, Client & Community Relations Director. The power of partnerships shined bright as our Scholars engaged in enriching dialogue, fostering connections that will pave the way for their growth and success. Thank you to Chris Kalin and Karen Feagins for sharing your stories and to PNC for your commitment to empowering our Scholars, enabling moments like these where wisdom is passed down and futures are shaped.

Last weekend, our Senior Director of Research and Evaluation, Emily Parrott, Ph.D., presented research on career outcomes of our College Class of 2022 at the American Educational Research Association in Philadelphia. As a program focused on #economicmobility, we want to make sure our Scholars are set up for success. We know that most have great outcomes—76% of that graduating class have a meaningful first-destination placement, full-time employees make over $71K, and 80% feel they have control over their lives post-graduation. We wanted to know: what about college and career development predicts these outcomes? We had two major research findings: 1) graduating with a STEM major predicted salary, adding a mean of over $20K controlling for other factors and 2) having 3+ professional connections (almost) predicted meaningful first-destination attainment for 20% (the result was not statistically significant but trended toward significance).  These findings are not surprising but underscore a need for us, and the broader education field, to continue to work on STEM equity and achievement as well as programming that supports network development and mobilization. We are thrilled to be engaging with the broader research community at conferences and are already preparing more presentations and publications for the future. Stay tuned. Thank you to everyone who makes Thrive Scholars research possible, especially our co-authors on this paper Emily Parrott, Ph.D. and Jarell Skinner-Roy, and to everyone who engaged with our work. See the full paper "Predicting Career Success in Thrive College Class of 2022" on our website for more details: https://lnkd.in/gSZujWDN #AERA2024 #research #higheredresearch #educationresearch #educationalequity #careerdevelopment #economicmobility