The Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship

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.

ABOUT DANIEL PEARL

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.

THE SCHOLARSHIP

The $1,000 award will be given to a student who intends to study and pursue a career in either journalism or music.

Eligibility is limited to residents of Berkshire County or areas outside the county where home delivery of either The Eagle or the Transcript is available. For complete eligibility standards please refer to the guidelines.

Guidelines and applications may be downloaded here, or can be obtained from area high school guidance offices.

Guidelines

Application

QUESTIONS:

If your questions are not answered in the guidelines on this site, please contact Martin C. Langeveld, 802-254-2407 or langeveldvt@comcast.net.

DONATIONS

The Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship continues to receive annual donations from The Berkshire Eagle and the North Adams Transcript, and also welcomes support from “friends of Danny” and others interested. Donations may be sent to the Daniel Pearl Berkshire Scholarship c/o North Adams Transcript, 124 American Legion Dr., North Adams, MA 01247. Donations are tax deductible; the fund is invested with the Daniel Pearl Foundation of Encino, CA, a qualified 501(c)3 charitable foundation.