Three Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) seniors are celebrating brighter opportunities for their college careers after being named Posse Scholars this month. The Posse Scholarships will provide them with full college tuition for four years. A total of 12 students from Prince George’s County, including the three from Roosevelt, were selected this year. Students participating in the Posse program have a 90-percent college graduation rate, according to the Posse Foundation. Speaking at the Board of Education meeting on January 12, Prince George’s County Public School’s CEO Dr. Monica Goldson estimated that each scholarship was worth approximately $140,000.
“I am so proud of this year’s scholarship class who represent the spectrum of excellence across the PGCPS community, specialty, charter and international high schools,” said Goldson. “We wish them continued success as they begin the next chapter of their academic careers and embark on this tremendous opportunity.”
This year’s recipients from ERHS are Marco Assam and Ruth Olawumi, who will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dianara Sagazstizado, who will attend Lewis & Clark College.
According to their website, the Posse Foundation believes “diversity is the key to solving our country’s biggest problems,” and “a small, diverse group of talented students – a Posse – carefully selected and trained, can serve as a catalyst for individual and community development.” The foundation seeks to diversify the pool of candidates from which top universities and colleges can draw, to help build campus environments more welcoming to students of diverse backgrounds and to ensure the Posse Scholars can graduate and join the workforce as leaders. The program seeks to identify students “with extraordinary leadership potential.” Each year, the foundation sends a “posse” of 10 students to each of the 64 participating colleges and universities so that the members of the group can support one another along their educational journeys. The Posse Foundation was founded in 1989 by Deborah Bial, who received a MacArthur Genius Grant for her work. It was one of 10 organizations selected by President Obama to receive a portion of the $1.4 million he received from his Nobel Peace Prize award.
