Connecting and Thriving with the Cooke Community
Becoming a Cooke Scholar means more than receiving a scholarship – it also means joining a community of other hard-working, positive people who want to see you succeed. To encourage Cooke Scholars and Alumni to connect with one another, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation started the Thrive Together program in 2017. Since then, barring the time from March 2020 to August 2022 when Thrive Together was paused due to the pandemic, nearly 800 Cooke Scholars and Alumni have participated in Thrive Together events.
The Thrive Together concept is simple: Scholars and Alumni in a close geographical area meet up to connect and support one another, and the Foundation reimburses a portion of the event cost and also sends free JKCF swag to participants. Thrive Together gatherings are community-led, so for the program to gain traction in locations across the country, volunteer Chapter Leaders and Scholars need to step up to organize.
Brown Scholars Thriving Together in 2022
College Scholar Stella Ng, attending Brown University, said she first heard of the Thrive Together program three years ago when she was a freshman. She says that at that time, a senior Cooke Scholar, Norbasida Bagabila, reached out to the new freshmen Scholars at Brown and helped them learn their way around campus. He also organized a Thrive Together meet-up at the beginning of the school year and Stella got to meet even more Scholars there. She shares, “I loved how he promoted that sense of community at Brown. For me as a senior this year, I wanted to help our new freshmen have a similar experience.”
Chicago Alumni Chapter Co-Leader Vesal Stoakley says he was also able to attend some Thrive Together events during his time as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. Those meet-ups had a lasting impact on him, and he shares, “a few Scholars reached out to me long after those get-togethers for support, which was really personally rewarding.” Vesal believes strongly in service and building up the community, so he offered to co-lead the Chicago Chapter a couple years ago. He says that planning the Thrive Together meet-ups is worthwhile because, “it's great to touch base with other Scholars, to hear about their experiences, and to learn how they confronted particular challenges.”
The Chicago Chapter Thriving Together in 2022
Both Stella and Vesal emphasize how important communication is when planning a Thrive Together event. Stella recommends that after receiving the emailed list of local Scholars (sent at the beginning of the school year by the Deans of Scholar Support), a volunteer should reach out to everyone on the list and welcome them, letting them know you’d like to meet them. Persistence is key and Stella shares that she often contacts other Scholars directly via Facebook or Instagram to try and get them involved. Stella has organized two well-attended events for the Brown-area Scholars and Alumni so far this school year and is looking forward to another next month!
In addition to persistent communication, Vesal also recommends co-leading to share the labor. He started as a Co-Leader of the Chicago Chapter learning from another Alum how to organize events, and now he has recruited a new Co-Leader, 2019 UT Scholar Joseph Thornton, to help him. The Chicago Chapter is planning to organize four Thrive Together events this year and hoping to reach Scholars as far as 2-3 hours outside the city.
Ultimately, Stella and Vesal both think the effort is worth it. Stella says, “I’m really glad I have the privilege of organizing these events,” and that making the time to build the community means you always have another group of people to hang out with and reach out to. Thank you, Stella and Vesal, for your volunteer leadership!
If you need help getting started with Thrive Together in your area, feel free to reach out to Thrive@jkcf.org with any questions! Thrive on, Cookies!