Going off to college can be scary, especially for seniors who don’t know anyone at their new school.  A support group is crucial in college, and the Posse Scholarship Program aims to fill this gap for incoming college freshmen.

Posse aims to form student groups or “posses.” A posse is defined by The Posse Scholarship Program as “a small, diverse group of talented students… carefully selected and trained, [that serves] as a catalyst for increased individual and community development.”

Students need to be nominated by a teacher to be applicable for the scholarship. This year Watkins Mill has eight seniors nominated: Oumoul Ba, Oswaldo Baires, Daniel Gomes, Jason Herrera, Kush Kharod, Nii Lamptey, Brandon Rodriguez, and Rodrigo Sandon.

“The Posse Scholarship Program is a partnership between the Posse organization and the select universities that are trying to recruit academically successful students who have demonstrated leadership,” career center coordinator Deborah Prochnow said.

Along with providing a support group of students to students, winners of the Posse scholarship enjoy a full ride to one of five universities in Possy DC. Applicants apply for the scholarship for specific schools. These schools include: Bucknell University, Grinnell College, Lafayette College, Sewanee: the University of the South, University of Rochester, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The process to winning the scholarship includes two rounds of interviews. “The first [interview] is a lot of group activities,” senior Kush Kharod said. “The second is more like an actual job interview.”

The Posse Scholarship has been available to Watkins Mill students for more than ten years, with five previous Wolverine winners. “I was nominated by College Tracks,” senior Brandon Rodriguez said. “I’m a big leader in school activities, I like taking roll in big activities like Orange Nation.”

Posse is a national scholarship with chapters in major cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

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Chase Deist

Oswaldo Baires is a nominee for the Posse scholarship.