Anonymous Compliments: Berklee’s Support System

By: Kayleigh Mill

Berklee is an amazing school, filled to the brim with talent and, therefore, competition. We all feel the pressure to perform and be “The Best” at some point or another, so it helps to have a good support system. For a long time, there hasn’t been a go-to source for positive encouragement. Recently, however, one innovative young Berklee student decided that our school’s support system could use a little boost – and along came Berklee Compliments, a Facebook profile that’s devoted to posting exclusively positive comments about Berklee students and groups. Check out the interview below for insight into this inspiring project.

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Berklee Groove: First of all, what exactly is Berklee Compliments?
Berklee Compliements: Berklee Compliments is a Facebook page designed to let students, teachers, and alumni compliment one another anonymously. All they have to do is send in a private message with the compliment, and the name of the person it is addressed to.

BG: How did the idea come about?
BC: I came to the realization one night that we all take our friendships and relationships for granted. There are so many amazing people at Berklee that don’t get enough recognition, and I thought that coming up with something like Berklee Compliments on a social media platform such as Facebook would be a great idea for people to express how much they appreciate each other, whether it for music or otherwise.

BG: What are the parameters for messages being posted on the wall?
BC: There really aren’t any restrictions. As long as the message is a genuine compliment, with nothing negative on display, I am happy to post it!

BG: Have you had to refuse to post something?
BC: I’ve only had a couple encounters where I had to revise someone’s compliment, but I’ve never refused to post anything. There has been no negative feedback so far, which has been great!

BG: What do you hope people get out of Berklee Compliments?
BC: I hope that people just realize Berklee has some pretty incredible people. When I created Berklee Compliments, the one goal I had in mind was just to brighten up someone’s day. Whether you realize it or not, the words you say can affect someone a great deal, and just letting them know how much you appreciate them can turn their day around.

BG: What’s the best thing to come from Berklee Compliments?
BC: Being anonymous has its perks. I’ve gotten to witness people’s reactions to the compliments they get, and that is honestly the best thing to come from this. Getting to see people smile, laugh, and blush at the compliments they receive makes me so happy that the page that I created has succeeded.

BG: In the first week alone, Berklee Compliments reached 1,000 friends. Did you expect that?
BC: I honestly didn’t expect the page to grow so quickly. To get it started I sent about 200 initial friend requests out to the people that I knew, and then it just spread like wildfire. It’s been about a week now, and we just surpassed 1,000 people. Berklee Compliments gets around 100-150 friend requests daily, so it’s constantly growing by the minute.

BG: Do you manage it by yourself?
BC: I do manage it by myself! For now, at least; since it’s the beginning of school there’s not much work yet, but my workload is growing daily. Luckily I have amazing roommates that are willing to help me out in the future if I can’t keep up with the page by myself.

BG: Have you thought about limiting posts when demand gets too high?
BC: I have not. I don’t think you can put a limit to the amount of compliments someone can send in. It’s great that people are using this page to show how much they care, so the more posts, the better!

BG: What do you think is in Berklee Compliments’ future?
BC: I’m not sure what’s in the future of Berklee Compliments, but for now, it’s doing great! I’m just taking it one day at a time, and if the opportunity presents itself for Berklee Compliments to grow into something bigger, then I’ll just take it as it comes.

Check out Berklee Compliments for yourself.