Posse Chicago Celebrates 101 New Scholars
This past January, families, friends, college counselors and supporters came out to the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago to celebrate 101 new Posse Chicago Scholars. The first in-person Awards Ceremony since 2020, the two-night event marked the official start of the new Scholars’ journey together.
“As the first person in my family to graduate from college, I know firsthand how a college degree can help students achieve their dreams.”
Pedro Martinez, CEO of Chicago Public Schools
The newest class of Posse Scholars collectively earned nearly $23 million in full-tuition scholarships from Chicago’s 10 college and university partners: Connecticut College, Cornell University, DePauw University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Middlebury College, Oberlin College, Pomona College, Trinity College, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Michigan. They will matriculate on campus in the fall.
The Scholars were selected from over 2,500 nominees through Posse’s intensive Dynamic Assessment Process, designed to identify leadership potential and capture strengths that are often overlooked in traditional college applications. Nominations came from all Chicago public high schools and more than 100 community-based organizations.
Posse Chicago recruits primarily from public schools, with 84 of the new Scholars coming from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez attended the Awards Ceremony and spoke about the incredible promise of these young leaders.
"For decades, The Posse Foundation has enabled hundreds of exceptional CPS graduates to attend college without the financial burden often associated with pursuing higher education," Pedro said. "As the first person in my family to graduate from college, I know firsthand how a college degree can help students achieve their dreams. I want to encourage all of our Posse recipients to continue working hard and to take advantage of all the opportunities available to them next year and beyond."
Now that each Posse has officially begun their journey together, they will embark on Posse’s unique Pre-Collegiate Training program. This eight-month program tackles practical skills such as writing and resume building as well as concepts like team building, communicating across difference, and change-making—all elements that will continue to propel Posse Scholars to be leaders in the classroom and the workforce.
