BEN PARRA

Concord-Carlisle High School
Class of 2011

I grew up in Carlisle, and along with my twin sister, Hannah, graduated from Concord-Carlisle High School in 2011. The Track and Field Team was the biggest part of my life at Concord-Carlisle High School, and music also was a big interest. In track, I competed in the long jump and also ran the 200-, 300-, and 400-meter races, although for me, track wasn’t as much about the athletic achievement as it was about the community that track and field represented. Steve Lane and the other coaches fostered an incredible community of people who were mutually supportive of one another. The team gave me a place and way to navigate high school, which can be very challenging for a lot of people.

When I received my scholarship from The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle, I felt like it was a real validation for all my hard work in high school – an important response to who I was at the time. The scholarship was very generous, and I was really touched and honored. It made me feel appreciated, which was very meaningful to me. I knew about Adrian Martinez from Steve Lane, Concord-Carlisle High School Track Head Coach, and the other coaches who also organized the annual Adrian Martinez Classic mile race. The Concord-Carlisle High School Track and Field Team was also very important to the Martinez family. I knew Adrian was really beloved and did a lot for his community. He left some very big shoes to fill and was very inspiring to me. I felt I was given a huge gift, and I was off to college and beyond to do things as a result of this gift in his name.

While I was in high school, I was interested in history and writing, and I had wonderful teachers at Concord-Carlisle High School. When I was looking at colleges, I knew I wanted a small college environment where I could really get involved, see what opportunities presented themselves that interested me, and just see what direction that would take. I decided to go to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where I have studied history, writing, social sciences and humanities. I graduated in 2015 with a focus on political theory and comparative and international politics. At Vassar, the core curriculum was limited to enable students to try lots of subjects. I have taken some music classes, and recently I have taken more English, literature, and media studies. I have been most involved in music at Vassar, playing, organizing, and building a varied music scene on campus. I play trumpet and bass, and played in a jazz ensemble. I also organized bringing bands to campus for small concerts every few weeks. It has been a mix that has included everything from jazz and line dance music to R&B, funk, and soul.

At the end of the 2015 school year, I played bass in a quartet that made a two-week tour to cities on the way to Georgia and back. After I graduated we took a two-week tour to Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and cities along the way. After I returned, I planned to stay in Poughkeepsie and remain active in the music scene in the New York area and in bringing music to Vassar and other colleges, and just see how far we could take the music.

My scholarship from The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle took a huge chunk out of my college loans, which allowed me to try new and unexpected intellectual experiences. It is giving me the freedom to pursue music and go on to graduate school unencumbered by as much debt as I would have otherwise had. The Adrian Martinez Scholarship really has been huge in permitting me to pursue these endeavors that don’t pay out right away, but will be formative in the direction that my life and work will take.