Posse: a support system before college even starts
by Lindsay Markel
Features | 9/7/04
Posted online at 2:12 AM EST on 9/7/04
When Meera Ramsoondar '07 was a senior in high school, her guidance counselor gave her a packet of college scholarship applications, among them a form that nominated her for the Posse Foundation scholarship. Only a year earlier, Ramsoondar had moved to Brooklyn, N.Y. from Trinidad and Tobego, but already, she was one of the top ranked students at her school.
Two years and three rounds of intense interviews later, she is beginning her second year on a full tuition scholarship at Brandeis, one of a group of 10 students who met the winter before they began college and trained together to be student leaders.
According to the Posse Foundation's Web site, the organization recruits and trains youth leaders from urban high schools and sends these students in groups, or "posses," to top colleges and universities.
"The best part is knowing you have a family," Ramsoondar said.
There are 40 Posse scholars at Brandeis in total, as each incoming class since the fall of 1998 has contained a group of 10. The 'generations' further magnify the support system, according to scholars.
"We have a real connection," Posse scholar Engy Lamour '07 said. "The upperclassmen treat us like little brothers and little sisters."
Posse scholars noted that a common misconception about Posse is that applicants must belong to a minority group.
"I'm white and I'm in Posse," Christine Caruso '07 said. She said that people make assumptions based on the diverse makeup of each Posse class.
"Because New York City is so diverse, if you take the top five kids from each New York City school, it's obvious that they'll be diverse," Caruso said. "Posse is not a minority outreach program."
"You'll find that the demographic of the Posses coincide with the city it is based in," Posse scholar Kyle Turner '06 explained. The foundation recruits students from New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., though all of Brandeis' Posse scholars are from the five boroughs of New York City.
Two years and three rounds of intense interviews later, she is beginning her second year on a full tuition scholarship at Brandeis, one of a group of 10 students who met the winter before they began college and trained together to be student leaders.
According to the Posse Foundation's Web site, the organization recruits and trains youth leaders from urban high schools and sends these students in groups, or "posses," to top colleges and universities.
"The best part is knowing you have a family," Ramsoondar said.
There are 40 Posse scholars at Brandeis in total, as each incoming class since the fall of 1998 has contained a group of 10. The 'generations' further magnify the support system, according to scholars.
"We have a real connection," Posse scholar Engy Lamour '07 said. "The upperclassmen treat us like little brothers and little sisters."
Posse scholars noted that a common misconception about Posse is that applicants must belong to a minority group.
"I'm white and I'm in Posse," Christine Caruso '07 said. She said that people make assumptions based on the diverse makeup of each Posse class.
"Because New York City is so diverse, if you take the top five kids from each New York City school, it's obvious that they'll be diverse," Caruso said. "Posse is not a minority outreach program."
"You'll find that the demographic of the Posses coincide with the city it is based in," Posse scholar Kyle Turner '06 explained. The foundation recruits students from New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., though all of Brandeis' Posse scholars are from the five boroughs of New York City.
3 
