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2015 grads achieve landmark success

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

The transition to college life is challenging for first-years everywhere, but for the urban public-high-school graduates in the  Posse program, it's especially so. Although they prepare for the experience through an extensive Pre-Collegiate Training (PCT) program, the reality still comes with a jolt.

鈥淚t鈥檚 almost like studying abroad,鈥� says Los Angeles Posse Scholar Vanessa Ceja-Cervantes 鈥�15 (environmental science), speaking in a 2013 video of the additional layers of newness she and her L.A. compatriots faced as they adjusted to the rhythms and rigors of on-campus life.

She and her fellow new Posse grads not only acclimated鈥攖hey thrived, earning the class of 2015 the distinction of being the first in Dickinson history to graduate 100 percent of both New York and Los Angeles Posse students. A 10-percent increase on the Posse Foundation鈥檚 already impressive 90-percent graduation rate, this milestone speaks both to the new graduates鈥� skills and persistence and to the constellation of support that helped smooth their paths to success.

College-life Sherpas

Recruited by the Posse Foundation to attend top-tier colleges and universities, Posse scholars are often the first in their families to attend college and receive full scholarships from partnering institutions like Dickinson.

Formal support begins with the Posse Foundation's eight-month PCT course, which covers everything from time management to roommate conundrums and meal-plan navigation. Once on campus, the students remain in touch with a Posse Foundation contact, but also meet regularly with a Dickinson mentor.

鈥淥ur Posse mentors go above and beyond,鈥� said Joyce Bylander, vice president for student life, noting that at Dickinson, mentors stay connected with their students during all four undergraduate years, and they remain in touch well after graduation.

College-life Sherpas, Posse mentors monitor academic progress and offer advice, guiding students through sometimes rocky academic and/or personal terrain. They take on many roles鈥攍ife coach, academic advisor and, as New York Posse鈥檚 Celeste Hippolyte 鈥�15 (American studies) puts it, 鈥渕ama away from home and comfort-zone challenger鈥濃�攁s they help students identify and tackle goals. 

"We also encourage [Posse scholars] to meet one-on-one with their professors and take advantage of campus resources, like the Writing Center and Career Center," says Nancy Edlin, assistant director of donor relations, who met individually with 2015 New York Posse members twice monthly鈥攚eekly, with those who requested more frequent meetings鈥攚hile Paula Lima-Jones, former director of diversity initiatives, mentored the L.A. group. The result: Broader support networks and reinforced resourcefulness and self-advocacy skills.

A strong home base

Peer-to-peer support is another defining characteristic of the Posse model. Friendships that took root in PCT bloom on campus as Posse students adjust to life away from their families and neighborhoods. After all, no one else knows better what it鈥檚 like to be the first member of one鈥檚 family to attend college; to miss the bustle of city life; to enter a campus community with a radically different racial, ethnic or socioeconomic mix than one's high school; or to experience snowfall (and snow boots) for the first time. 

鈥淗aving a posse definitely helped me with that initial adjustment,鈥� says Brandon Goldson 鈥�15 (biology), a Resident Advisor, student-athlete and member of Run With It!, Dickinson Christian Fellowship and Scroll & Key. 鈥淎nd it provided me with a base of support to take advantage of all that Dickinson has to offer, on campus and internationally.鈥�

Of course, as Posse scholars widen their circles, they meet students with very different backgrounds and frames of reference. As Hippolyte noted, it can be tough to tackle conversations about race and ethnicity for a college-age student, still figuring out who they are and what they want to do. A first-year mentor who was involved as president of the Hypnotic dance group, co-founder of Multicultural Ambassadors and a Multicultural Recruitment Intern for the Office of Admissions, Hippolyte seized that opportunity. So did Sarah Archer-Days 鈥�15 (sociology, Italian), the recipient of the Carl Rhodes Memorial Prize and Gaylord H. Patterson Memorial Sociology Prize, a member of the African American Society and an intern in the Popel Shaw Center for Race & Ethnicity.

鈥淚 found that talking to faculty, staff and other classmates helped me figure out how to handle these situations, and it allowed me to realize the number of people on campus who felt the same way, or who wanted to be enlightened by my experience,鈥� says Archer-Days.

Graduation, ho!

Together with the education that framed them, these interactions, connections and experiences allow Posse students to grow in previously unimagined ways. The effects are far-reaching, says Mika Roque 鈥�15 (English), a former Breakthrough Collaborative teaching fellow and study-abroad student (University of East Anglia) who will work as a teaching assistant next fall while applying for a Fulbright assistantship.

鈥淭hrough Posse I won life experiences, strong friendships, a brilliant education and best of all, the opportunity to grow as a person and learn about myself and my identity,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 could not be more grateful for the love and support I received and still receive today.鈥�

Goldson agreed, drawing a direct line from those resources to graduation day. 鈥淗aving Posse and the support of many of the Dickinson students, professors and administrators inspired me to relentlessly focus and push myself to be the best I can be,鈥� said Goldson, who posted a list of dream medical schools at the start of every Dickinson semester and is now gearing up for his MCATs. 鈥淲ith this backing, there was no chance that I wasn鈥檛 going to graduate.鈥�

Learn more

• Posse at Dickinson
• "Saluting the Class of 2015"
• Popel Shaw Center for Race & Ethnicity
• Latest News

Published July 29, 2015