Greetings,

We seem to have leapt into summer in the same way many are rebounding from the pandemic. Both are an adjustment – a happy adjustment but an adjustment none-the-less. Wily Scholars have come out of isolation and are returning to the business of college and summer jobs. Most of the ten Scholars who crossed the finish line to graduation have jobs or graduate school on the horizon and are transitioning to post college life with their coaches by their side until fall 2021. 

Wily’s summer will be filled with projects and changes, as we prepare for the academic year and look forward to working with 85 Scholars this fall. Renovations to accommodate our growing staff are underway at our office in the Rockland Trust Bank (stay tuned for photos). We’re planning our first career fair in October, and possibly an overnight retreat in the spring of 2022. Wily continues to evolve and grow, thanks to your support.  

We hope you will keep Wily in mind when you consider your volunteer work and philanthropic contributions over the summer.

Stay safe and enjoy the sun! 

Judi Alperin King

Founder and Executive Director

Summer is finally here! Although the spring semester may be over, Wily Scholars are still busy, busy, busy. Below is what some of members of the Wily Pack are up to this summer: 

At Wily, diversity, equity, and inclusion are deeply connected to our mission of supporting students as they navigate college independently. On June 8 and June 15, we hosted our Inclusion Conversation Series. Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Inclusion Conversations this past month! We hope the takeaways from these discussions, led by Dr. Kiera Penpeci and Ashlee Jeannot, inspire you to create meaningful change and have the difficult but necessary conversations with friends, family and colleagues. To read more about these discussions, click here.

Watching Scholars reach graduation is what Wily is all about! For the resilient class of 2021, this is a graduation year unlike any other. On May 20th, we gathered via Zoom to celebrate our Wily Seniors with inspirational speakers, confetti, and a little bit of reminiscing. Thank you to everyone who donated in honor of the Class of 2021! To read more about graduation, click here.

Thank you to Coleen and Scott McAdam and Bonnie Buckley Curtis and Bill Crouch for hosting Wily’s first in-person intro event in over a year! It was wonderful to connect with everyone and make some new friends at Scott and Coleen’s home in Marblehead. There was also a virtual celebrity appearance from Andy Buckley (David Wallace from The Office) who kicked off the night with some kind words about Wily.

On May 2nd, Wily’s Young Professionals Association (YPA) hosted “Workin’ It For Wily”, a virtual fitness class taught by Sweat From Home. The event raised $1,700 for Wily, and definitely left us feeling sweaty and accomplished! Thank you to the YPA for all that you do for Wily! To learn more about Wily’s YPA, click here.

During the spring semester, Wily distributed care packages to all Scholars for Valentine’s Day as well as spring final exams. Below are the people who made that possible:



• Lizanne Kenney 
• Gina Heaney and friends 
• Betsy Reale and the Rivers Senior Class of 2021 
• Joy Denomme and Thayer Academy 
• Coleen McAdam, Bonnie Buckley Curtis, Compass Realty, and Chloe Crouch and friends 

Thank you all! We are currently looking for volunteers to provide care packages for the 2021-2022 school year. Reach out to Development/Program Coordinator, Gabe, to learn more about volunteer opportunities at Wily!

Wily celebrated Volunteer Appreciation Week April 18th-24th, with volunteer spotlights on social media, a volunteer survey, and a Thank-A-Thon. Members of the Board of Directors and Young Professionals Association took time to call and personally thank some of Wily’s dedicated volunteers. It was a great opportunity for Pack members to connect with each other and reflect on what Wily means to them. 

To celebrate and thank our board members for all their hard work, Wily sent them Black Lives Matter t-shirts. The shirts were designed by Wily Scholar Lissa, (MassArt) and produced by Wily Scholar J’Saun, (BC) at the suggestion of Wily Scholar Aisha (BC). The shirts are currently being produced at J’Saun’s company, Radical Route, which highlights the work of Black artists.

Thank you to Wily ambassador Katherine DePasquale for helping Scholars (and staff) schedule their COVID-19 vaccination appointments. Katherine volunteered with Massachusetts COVID Vaccination Help, a nonprofit group set up to secure vaccine appointments, with a focus on underserved communities. So, how did they do it? In Katherine’s words, “persistence, tenacity, patience… and a whole lot of zip codes”. Because of Katherine’s commitment to the Wily Pack, both Scholars and staff were able to receive their vaccines with ease. Stay safe, everyone!

In April, Wily hosted a virtual Spring Community Day. We spent the afternoon in a variety of breakout activities led by Wily Scholars and staff (including an African Dance class, an astrology presentation, and a meditation workshop). We also held a Wily Pack Talent Show for Scholars to showcase their musical abilities, cooking skills, artwork, and more! It was wonderful to spend time together, and we are looking forward to celebrating Community Day in person this fall!

We hope you were able to join us for our 3rd Annual Speaker Series in February, which focused on what mental well-being looks like for college students and what we can do to support students who are facing mental health challenges. Click here to watch the event and share with others, or check out our mental health resources here.

We rely on the strength of our Wily Network Pack

Please consider making a gift.

Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Bridgewater State University, Emerson College, Harvard University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, Northeastern University, UMass Boston (as of 06/2021)