When freshman Posse Scholar Eboni Lee thought about college, she never dreamt she would be able to attend one across the country.
The D.C. native had lived in one place her whole life and moving to the West Coast for college seemed difficult for financial, physical and emotional reasons. When she applied to be a Posse Scholar at Pepperdine, it was a shot in the dark, and all her other applications were for schools near home. After all, thousands applied; only 10 got in.
“I just decided to apply to see where I stood among others,” Lee said. “But then I continued to make the cuts and I realized it just might become a reality for me.”
Lee said she was shocked when she qualified for the highly selective scholarship, which would provide for her financially and give her a solid support group as she made her way through university.
“There were so many other people who had internships at the White House and who were much more qualified than me,” Lee said. “I could not believe they thought I deserved a prestigious scholarship like that.”
But that is the point of the Posse Scholarship: to give attention to often overlooked students and to encourage the student’s potential leadership abilities.
Pepperdine University is one of many universities connected with the urban-focused scholarship. Posse recruits from big U.S. cities such as D.C., Atlanta, New Orleans and Miami, seeking students who show exceptional character and leadership abilities. These are cities colleges often do not send recruiters to, so Posse provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their abilities.
As a result, many, but not all Posse Scholars are minorities and individuals from poorer school districts. All, however, get in on merit alone.
The word “Posse,” according to Urban Dictionary, is a crew of friends, or “homies” that have your back. This is an integral part of the Posse Scholarship, as the 10 people in each group have this responsibility to each other and support each other throughout college.
Knowing she would have a support group in place made it easier for Lee to step out of her comfort zone and move 2,700 miles from home to attend Pepperdine.
“I thought, if I get to go to California with nine other people, it shouldn’t be too bad,” Lee said. “I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t have the support of my Posse.”
A major criteria for the Posse Scholars is that they will be campus leaders. Scholars bond together to support each other through their four years in university, under the guidance of a faculty adviser.
“We look at their academics, but the most important thing is if they have future potential to be leaders here on campus that can bring diverse, social and ethnic perspectives,” Posse mentor and Pepperdine Professor Daniel Rodriguez said. “We see if they can incorporate that element into leadership on campus.”
Around 25 of the current 38 Posse scholars on campus are in leadership positions including Student Government Association, residential advisers or spiritual life advisers, and presidents of clubs, senior Posse Scholar Demi Mccoy said. The current SGA president is Posse Scholar Demisse Habteselasie.
The scholarship does not favor minorities, but allows those who show exceptional leadership quality a better chance at succeeding and benefitting their campus, Posse members said.
“People have a misconception that it’s for minority groups or based on need, but that’s not the case,” junior Posse Scholar Miyelle Aiken said. “It’s based on merit, how you were involved in school and your community.”
One of the goals of Posse is to target urban neighborhoods that universities don’t usually go to for college fairs, Rodriguez said.
“Not all of them, but a lot of them would not have been looked at seriously if it wasn’t for Posse because of where they’re from, ” Rodriguez said. “Posse helped put those people on the radar screen.”
The Posse Foundation trainers and a team of Pepperdine’s admission staff select 10 students from the Washington D.C. area every year to receive the scholarship, which financially covers their tuition for four years, leaving them only with room and board costs.
These 10 students go through an intensive interview process that begins at the end of their junior year in high school and lasts until December of their senior year.
“I had to survive three rounds of interviews and it made me very anxious,” freshman Posse Scholar Edward Adutwum said. “It was friendly to students though, and what stood out was they wanted to get to know me as a person.”
Once selected, the Posse Scholars attend Pre-Collegiate Training (PCT) starting in January of their senior year. They bond by talking about social issues and learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
“This PCT bonding before we started college is what makes Posse unique,” Lee said. “I came in knowing everything about Pepperdine because of the previous Posse Scholars who helped me.”
At the start of college, Posse Scholars continue to meet every week as a group, and every other week with their Posse mentor for their first two years.
“I’ve become more familiar with the perspective of East Coast urban students,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve gotten to know 10 students on a very personal level, and it helps me understand what undergraduate life is like and better know my regular students too.”
The Posse Foundation has been in collaboration with Pepperdine for the past four years. This year is the first time every grade has a Posse group.
“We were the very first posse group here and we wanted to live up to the prestige of the scholarship and set it up for the Posses after us,” Mccoy said. “But looking back on it, I realize being you, being the best you is what Posse wants, and we thought we had to live up to that perfect Posse Scholar when it really isn’t perfect.”
Posse also aids graduating Posse Scholars with the transition into working life or graduate school and connects them to different opportunities.
“They’re really good about getting us internships and the network I have now is huge,” McCoy said. “It’s fun now to be able to see how my Posse has grown and track everyone to see what they have done with this opportunity.”
Throughout their time here, all the Posse Scholars on campus, their faculty and trainers meet three times a year and bond with each other. There is also a PossePlus retreat once a year in which Posse Scholars can bring three to five people to get away for a weekend and talk about social issues.
Although Pepperdine has recruited from the Washington D.C. Posse for the past four years, they have transitioned to recruiting from Los Angeles starting fall 2014, Dean of Admissions Michael Truschke said.
“Pepperdine, having a long and rich history with the city of LA back in the 1970s made us want that reconnection,” Truschke said. “Given that Posse has a regional chapter in LA, it’s a natural thing to be able to do that and connect with students from the community.”
The Posse Foundation has nine main locations, which include Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami and New Orleans. Each location is connected with five to six colleges and recruit from all high schools in the area.
Founded in 1988, Posse is partnered with 48 universities, with 192 Posse groups and 1,920 Posse Scholars spread across the country. The scholarships awarded to Pepperdine Posse Scholars come from the university itself. All the universities in total have awarded $577 million in leadership scholarships.
Michelle Cheung completed this story in Dr. Christina Littlefield’s fall 2013 Jour 241 class.
