National Partnerships

We help companies tap into
high-performing and diverse leaders

We know there are at least 25,000* high-achieving, underrepresented students from economically disadvantaged communities with the academic qualifications to get into a top 100 college and talent to work at your company.

HOWEVER, YOUR DIVERSE TALENT POOL IS TOO SMALL – BECAUSE YOU ARE STARTING TOO LATE

Systematic exclusion from college counseling, academically rigorous high school courses, college networks, and career exposure means your pipeline of competitive candidates has significantly narrowed by the time you start recruiting.

High-impact and fast-growing industries need a long-term solution to their diversity challenges. Lack of access to opportunity and systemic barriers keep our most motivated and talented students of color from:

Securing internships

Early career exposure

Launching high-impact careers

We have been working on this for 20 years and
have developed two data-driven solutions that work.

Starting earlier is the key to Thrive’s success in addressing these systemic inequities. Our college-to-career accelerator program model is dedicated to supporting high-achieving students of color so they can be your company’s next interns, full-time hires, and leaders. Over the next five years, we will expand our support to 2,000 new students each year from across the country—students who will widen your diverse talent pipeline and become the leaders your industry needs.

Summer Academy

Students at under-resourced schools need exposure to the same academic rigor private and suburban school students receive so they are prepared to excel academically in top colleges – our Summer Academy does that. Scholars participate in two summers of an intensive six-week program on a university campus before their first year of college. Each summer, Scholars will take three hours of calculus and three hours of writing every weekday for six weeks, taught by college professors. Thrive plans to open up 10 Summer Academies across the country over the next five years, eventually serving 2000 students each year.

Since beginning our Summer Academy,

Our Scholars’ GPAs increased from 2.9 to 3.4
STEM persistence rose from 20% to 75%
6-year graduation rates increased from 90% to 98%

Career Pathways

To reach their full potential, students need career exposure and essential skill development to excel in their internships and thrive in high-trajectory careers. As sophomores in college, Scholars will choose one of our Career Pathways: Tech, Engineering, Law, Finance, Consulting, Life Sciences, or General Business.

Scholars will receive:

Individualized training and coaching tailored to their industry
Corporate support
A pathway into internships and full-time positions

Summer Academy Scholars outperform students of all demographic backgrounds at top 100 colleges. They have better grades and are:

10%

more likely to graduate

34%

more likely to persist in STEM majors

Let’s Develop A Diverse Workforce, Together

Our Diverse Talent Initiative plans to recruit a limited number of companies to join us in this work. It is a long-term solution to an ongoing problem. We’ll work with you to develop outcome-driven partnerships that support your company’s diversity and inclusion goals, expand your talent pipeline, deepen staff engagement, and create positive social change.

Join a group of industry leaders investing in this initiative that will connect thousands of the most competitive candidates to high-trajectory careers in your company and help bring diversity to your industry.

Join Us: Invest Today

Connect with our Managing Director of Corporate Partnerships

Monique Perez

Our value add is unique. We make economic mobility a reality.
We help corporate America diversify the talent pipeline. We work at the scale of the problem.

Partners and Scholar Testimonials

Kika Buhrmann

VP of Sales, Nespresso

Nespresso has been fortunate to work with Thrive Scholars for more than two years, and co-create initiatives, products and opportunities in line with their mission. From the moment I got introduced to Thrive Scholars, I have been very impressed by the long-lasting impact they make on the lives of so many talented scholars. Through our collaboration with Thrive Scholars we have been able to meaningfully connect our employees and consumers behind our broader brand purpose goals.

Geline Midouin

Co-Executive Director & Chief Operations Officer, Shearman & Sterling LLP

At Shearman & Sterling, we are committed to attracting, retaining and advancing a diverse population of top lawyers and professionals. We recognize that partnering with impactful programs like Thrive Scholars with a proven track record can help us meaningfully broaden our talent pipeline of students of color. Thrive Scholars ensures that high achieving students from lower -income communities are provided equal access to opportunities and career development in order to enter and succeed in high-impact career fields such as Law.

Scott Campbell

Cornell University College of Engineering, Executive Director of Admissions and Recruitment

Where Thrive is absolutely unique is in their Summer Academy program…so the courses are being taught by college professors so that the quality level is extremely high. And what that does for us is it gives us this clear confidence that these students are prepared for what we would ask them to do.

Otua

Wellesley College, Class of 2021 - Wellington Management

Like many minority students interested in finance, specifically those that come from low socio-economic backgrounds, I lacked the necessary social capital and institutional knowledge to fairly compete with my peers. The support that I received from Thrive was instrumental in improving my technical abilities, industry insight and interview readiness. Most importantly, my mentors instilled an unwavering confidence in me that still propels me to this day.

Kelton

New York University, Class of 2026

Summer Academy was transformative in many different ways. Not only did I get exposure to college-level courses, expert college access, and college living, but I also got to develop a tight-knit community. Knowing that, through our shared struggle of being first-generation, low-income students, I can strive towards and succeed at everything I have dreamed of and more. Although we may come from underprivileged backgrounds, Thrive pushes us beyond the stereotypes associated with that.

Sandra

University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2027

Summer Academy not only made me feel more prepared going into my senior year courses but made me feel confident about my potential to get into top institutions. From finding my college fit factors, interview preparation, and understanding our intersectional identities, I took away a deep understanding that colleges truly look beyond high GPAs and test scores.