Posse Chicago Celebrates 104 New Scholars

Posse Chicago welcomed 104 new Posse Scholars at this year’s Awards Ceremony. Hailing from neighborhoods across Chicagoland, members of the newest class are the recipients of more than $25 million in full-tuition scholarships from Posse Chicago’s partner colleges and universities: Connecticut College, Cornell University, DePauw University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Middlebury College, Oberlin College, Pomona College, Trinity College, University of Wisconsin-Madison and newcomer Whitman College.

The Awards Ceremony was held in January at the Chicago History Museum. Before family, friends and other members of their communities, the Class of 2029 was honored with words of praise and encouragement from Posse leadership and college representatives. The new Scholars will matriculate this fall, having been selected for their extraordinary academic and leadership potential from a pool of more than 2,400 nominees. This year’s class includes the inaugural cohort of Scholars for Whitman College, which signed on to the program last fall.

Reflecting on the addition of Whitman to the roster of partner schools, Posse Chicago Director Jacare Thomas says, “Whitman College has been described as a place where a student can be who they are and learn how to be themselves wherever they go in the world. Posse Chicago is proud to count them among our partner schools and proud to welcome this next generation of leaders.”

Since the Awards Ceremony, the new Scholars have been immersed in Pre-Collegiate Training (PCT), Posse’s eight-month program that includes weekly meetings focused on leadership development, team-building, and academic preparation. As the fall season begins, the students are getting settled into their first semester on campus. Posse Chicago looks forward to supporting their success over the next four years and beyond.