Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship
The Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship
INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS
The Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship was established in 2003 with major support from The Berkshire Eagle, the North Adams Transcript and friends of Daniel Pearl, to benefit Berkshire-area students who intend to major in journalism or music. The award program is administered by the Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship Committee.
Daniel Pearl was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was kidnapped and killed, at the age of 38, by terrorists in Pakistan early in 2002. He began his career with stints as a reporter at both the Transcript and The Eagle between 1986 and 1990, after graduating from Stanford University. He joined The Wall Street Journal in 1990, and worked in its Atlanta, Washington, London and Paris bureaus. In 2000 he was appointed chief of The Journal’s South Asia Bureau in Bombay, India. At the time of his death, Pearl had been seeking an interview with a shadowy Islamic leader to obtain information about terrorist organizations in Pakistan. Those who promised to arrange the interview instead kidnapped and killed him.
While Pearl’s career was in journalism, he was a gifted musician, trained as a classical violinist. He also played guitar and mandolin, and while living in the Berkshires he performed in a bluegrass band.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for the 2023 award, you must meet one of the following educational qualifications, and the Berkshire area residence requirement below.
- You will graduate from high school in 2023 and plan to enter your first year of higher education in the fall of 2023, OR:
- You graduated from high school in 2021 or 2022 and deferred college enrollment for one or two “gap” years, but plan to enter your first year of college in the fall of 2023, OR:
- You plan to enter college in the fall of 2023 following a period of active military service.
Graduates of any public or private high school may qualify, as long as they meet the following residence requirement: The applicant must have maintained home residence during his or her entire senior year in high school within the circulation and news coverage area of The Berkshire Eagle. That area is defined as, and limited to:
- All towns in Berkshire County, Massachusetts; plus:
- Canaan, CT
- Pownal, Readsboro and Stamford, VT
- Canaan, New Lebanon, Berlin, Stephentown, NY
Residents of this geographic area who attended a school elsewhere (for example, a private school) also qualify.
AWARDS
The award is competitive, and will be given at the discretion of the committee to a single student who exhibits a strong interest in the pursuit of education and a career either in music or journalism, and has a meritorious record of academic and community achievement while in high school. Applications will be reviewed by the committee with those criteria in mind.
The fund makes an annual award of $2,000. Note: The scholarship award may be subject to revocation if the recipient substantially alters his or her intent to study and pursue a career in journalism or music prior to first-year enrollment. In addition to the college scholarship, the fund donates $500 to the Berkshire Music School to assist in tuition for a student with financial need.
DEADLINE
All applications must be received by email by the Committee by midnight, Monday, April 24, 2023. No postal applications please.
TO APPLY
Complete the attached application form, scan, and send it by email it to:
Pearl Scholarship Committee
c/o Martin C. Langeveld
Along with the application form, please be sure to send:
- A certified transcript of high school grades
- Two letters of recommendation, one from a recent teacher and one from a counselor, community leader or employer
- A typed or printed essay, the requirements for which are described in the application form
- Evidence of acceptance to an accredited college or university offering a course of study focused on journalism or music.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application form and all attachments are received by the deadline date – the committee will send no notification of missing materials.
REVIEW PROCESS
Applications will be reviewed by the Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship Advisory Committee, which is composed of Berkshire residents with journalism backgrounds.
PAST WINNERS
2003: Kathryn E. Anderson, Pittsfield, MA (Pittsfield High School, Harvard University)
2004: Luke C. Massery, Pittsfield, MA (Pittsfield High School, Eastman School of Music)
2005: Thomas J. Buchte, Sheffield, MA (Mt. Everett Regional, University of Southern California)
2006: Linnéa K. Clark, Washington, MA [Miss Hall’s School, Yale University]
2007: Brian F. Mastroianni, Adams, MA [Hoosac Valley High School, Brown University]
2008: Samantha deManbey, Sandisfield, MA [Monument Mountain Regional High School; Fitchburg State College]
2009: Elizabeth Murray, Adams, MA [Hoosac Valley High School, St. Michael’s College]
2010: Patrick W. Madden, Williamstown, MA [Mt. Greylock Regional High School, Brown University
2011: Zachary S. Robarge, Pittsfield, MA [Pittsfield High School, University of Massachusetts]
2012: Naomi LaChance, Williamstown, MA [Mount Greylock Regional High School, Bard College]
2013: Kate Robarge, Pittsfield, MA [Pittsfield High School, University of Massachusetts, Amherst]
2014: Connor Wotkowicz, Adams, MA [Hoosac Valley High School, Boston College
2015: Hannah Lynn Cohen, Lee, MA [Monument Mountain Regional High School, Boston University]
2016: Sydney Claire King, Lenox Dale, MA [Lenox Memorial High School, McGill University]
2017: Carli Scolforo, Pittsfield, MA [Taconic High School, Sienna College]
2018: Noah Hochfelder, Pittsfield, MA [Lenox Memorial High School, Middlebury College]
2019: Brierley Lloyd, Falls Village, CT [Housatonic Valley Regional High School, Endicott College]
2020: Owen Tucker-Smith, Williamstown, MA [Mount Greylock Regional High School, Yale University]
2021: Emma Kostyun, Pittsfield, MA [Pittsfield High School, University of New Hampshire]
2022: Joseph Weinbert, Richmond, MA [Pittsfield High School, The Juilliard School, New York]
QUESTIONS
Please contact Martin C. Langeveld 802-380-0226 or newsafternewspapers@gmail.com