On Sunday, May 17, education strategist and Posse Foundation founder Deborah Bial will give the commencement address for UR’s class of 2015. Bial is known for supporting diversity in higher education, and her nonprofit Posse Foundation has just concluded its first year of partnership with UR.
The University’s commencement website describes the Posse Foundation as “a youth leadership development and college access organization.”
Founded by Bial in 1989, the Posse Foundation, according to its website, sends teams of 10 to 12 “public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes” to top colleges each year. Since its inception, the program has produced over 2,600 college graduates from more than fifty schools, including Boston University; Syracuse University; Dartmouth College; the University of California, Los Angeles; Brandeis University and Texas A&M University. UR joined the Foundation last year, accepting its first group of Posse Scholars into the class of 2018.
“Posse 1”, the first group of Posse students to attend UR, is made up of ten students from the organization’s Washington, D.C. branch, which encompasses Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Exceptional students are nominated by their high school classmates in their senior year, and then go on to apply for a Posse spot.
Posse Scholar and freshman Debie Aguilar described the selection process.
“Each year, Posse D.C. receives thousands of nominations from students in the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area,” Aguilar said. “Every single nominee is brought in to meet the team and get to know what Posse is all about.”
After the first round of interviews, some nominees are chosen to continue the application process. These applicants are interviewed by Posse staff and choose which of the partner universities they would most like to attend.
After the ten scholars in UR’s “Posse 1” were chosen, there was eight months of training to prepare them for the campus environment.
“Pre-Collegiate Training (PCT) aimed to prepare scholars for possible academic and personal challenges they may face during their college career,” Posse Scholar and freshman Marisela Lara said. “PCT aimed to better inform our cohort on the goals of the Posse Foundation and our role on campus.”
In addition to receiving an education, Posse Scholars are also tasked with assuming leadership roles on their college campuses. Lara explained that one goal of each Posse group is to help their university “build more interactive campus envirnoments so that they can become more welcoming institutions for people from all backgrounds.” This requires that the Posse Scholars become involved in clubs and extracurricular activities on campus. The Posse group at UR participated in a poster session at UR’s annual Diversity Conference on April 17, in order to spread awareness about Posse’s goals in Rochester.
In February, members of “Posse 1” hosted the first Rochester Posse Plus Retreat, where they invited members of the university community to a weekend discussion. Posse Scholars invited friends, classmates, faculty
and anyone with an interest in the topic to join. The theme for the retreat was the criminal justice system and “how crime and punishment has manifested in the United States,” Lara explained.
Aguilar said the retreat was a success, and that it will be an annual event with a new topic each year. The size of the event will likely grow as more Posse scholars come to UR.
The Posse Foundation has a high success rate, with over 90% of Posse Scholars graduating from their respective colleges. Posse Scholars who attend UR have a support network to help them succeed: the group meets each week with Posse mentor and CETL co-director Terry Platt. Many of the Posse Scholars are also David T. Kearns Scholars, part of UR’s program for first-generation college students who are seeking doctoral degrees.
They also work with one another to become more involved on campus. Posse Scholars are members of many student groups, including the National Society of Black Engineers, the Spanish and Latino Student Organization, the Minority Student Advisory Board and Indulgence Dance Team.
The members of “Posse 1” are all freshmen inclucing Aguilar, Lara, Leonardo Bonilla, Josue Hernandez, Kavon Holley, Mohamed Keita, Lamek Kahsay, Amber Hudson, Courtney Thomas and Kristi Thomas. The Posse Foundation will continue its mission at UR in the coming years, with the second group of 10 scholars, “Posse 2”, to join the class of 2019 in August.
“We are excited to have another group of 10 brilliant and inspiring students as part of Posse next fall,” Aguilar said. “There will be more to come.”
By the time “Posse 1” graduates, there will be 40 Posse Scholars enrolled at UR, and this number should remain constant from 2018 onward.
“Posse 1” will welcome Bial to campus at a dinner with UR President Joel Seligman. Aguilar noted that a few Posse Scholars will also be able to attend the commencement address.
Bial will be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University on Sunday.
The address will take place on the Eastman Quadrangle during the commencement ceremony at 9 a.m.
Passanisi is a member of the class of 2017.
