2025 marked the inaugural year of the Dr. Thomas and Marilyn Beck Scholars Program, a 10-week summer internship that gives students real-world career experience working with creative organizations in Idaho.
The Beck Scholars program represents the latest of many steps the School of the Arts has taken to modernize our arts education. Students graduating from Boise State arts programs enter the workforce with the creative skills to practice their passions and the professional know-how to make careers in art.
“The Thomas and Marilyn Beck Scholars program bridges classroom learning with real-world experience, empowering students for career success while strengthening vital partnerships with arts organizations and businesses.”
—Amanda ashley, school of the arts director
Partners include Duck Club, STEM Forged, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, The Common Well, Visionkit Studio and Wide Eye Productions. These local creative organizations cover a breadth of disciplines in the School of the Arts: music, digital, theatre, visual art, photography and video.
“You are learning every single day, and you have to adapt to every situation you’re in,” said Jaeojah Hunter, a Beck Scholar working with Wide Eye Productions and a rising senior working towards a BFA in Film and Television Arts. “It’s everything.”
The Beck Scholars, a select group of arts students chosen from a wide pool of applicants, had the opportunity to meet Marilyn Beck earlier in the summer. “She was very excited to start a program where artists and creative individuals can express themselves,” Hunter said. “She was just so passionate and excited about us jumping into these internships.”
In addition to the Beck Scholars Program, Marilyn Beck has generously supported the Center for the Visual Arts, many student scholarships and the Dr. Thomas and Marilyn Beck Endowed Professor in the Arts. School of the Arts Director Amanda Ashley currently holds the endowed professorship.
“We’re deeply thrilled to launch our first cohort of interns this year, and we are hoping to grow it even more given the extensive student demand,” Ashley said. “Generous endowed funds make this program possible, providing life-changing support that opens doors, removes barriers and ensures access to meaningful, career-shaping opportunities in the arts and creative economy.”