D.C. Awards Ceremony Welcomes 50 Scholars

More than 500 people filled the historic Lincoln Theatre on January 4, 2018, to welcome 50 new Posse Scholars at the 14th annual Posse D.C. Awards Ceremony. Students were awarded more than $9 million in full-tuition merit scholarships by Bucknell University, Lafayette College, Sewanee: The University of the South, University of Rochester and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“The Awards Ceremony is a celebration of these dynamic students as well as their families and mentors who supported them throughout the Posse selection process,” says Posse D.C. Director Tamara Wilds Lawson. “We also recognize our college and university partners who invest in the future of these young people.”

“Receiving the Posse Scholarship was a culmination of my hard work.”

The Scholars, who were chosen from a pool of more 1,500 nominees and demonstrate exceptional academic and leadership potential, hail from 40 high schools across the D.C. region. Sixty-six percent will be the first in their family to attend college in the United States.

“Receiving the Posse Scholarship was a culmination of my hard work,” says Scholar Yarnetta Leonard, who serves as student government president at her high school. “I am looking forward to growing together as a Posse at Rochester while also diving into other groups on campus.”

From January to August, the new cohorts of D.C. Scholars participate in Posse’s intensive Pre-Collegiate Training, which ensures they arrive on campus prepared to succeed academically and as campus leaders.