Eighteen MCPS Students Receive Full-Tuition Posse Scholarships

Back in January, Eighteen MCPS students were named recipients of full-tuition, four-year college scholarships from the Posse Foundation.

The Posse program identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential that may have been overlooked by traditional college selection processes.

Nationally, 63 colleges and universities each offer full-tuition, merit scholarships to students throughout the country and create multicultural teams—called Posses—on each campus. These student teams receive professional guidance before and throughout college and provide support to one another.

On campus, these students serve in important leadership roles. The MCPS students were honored at a ceremony on Jan. 13, but most will be graduating in the next two weeks.

We spoke with one of the scholarship recipients, Brianna Villegas, a graduating senior at Quince Orchard High School. She told us “Every obstacle I faced made me a stronger person. My strength is what lead me to excel in my academics and earn opportunities in our education system. And for that, I learned everyone is resilient to achieve their goals and make their dreams a reality.”

This year’s recipients come from 14 high schools and will attend five different colleges. The Posse Scholars from MCPS and the colleges they will be attending are:

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School

Erin Fails, Lewis & Clark College

Montgomery Blair High School

Tony Calderon Gonzalez, Sewanee: The University of the South

James Hubert Blake High School

Enistin (Moon) Gomes, Sewanee: The University of the South

Albert Einstein High School

Elmer Cruz, Bucknell University

Walter Johnson High School

Ronnie Ward, Lafayette College

John F. Kennedy High School

Ariful Haque, Lafayette College

Paint Branch High School

Jenkins Darbney, Sewanee: The University of the South

Rockville High School

Gabriella Diaz, Bucknell University

Seneca Valley High School

Freddy Akpoly, University of Rochester

Sherwood High School

Lissandro Alvarado Chavez, Bucknell University

Lily Groff, Lafayette College

Quince Orchard High School

Carly Abbott, Sewanee: The University of the South

Brianna Villegas, University of Wisconsin – Madison

Watkins Mill High School

Francisco Manuel Carbonell, University of Wisconsin – Madison

Wheaton High School

Kaleab Tefera, University of Rochester

Jazmin Sevillano, Sewanee: The University of the South

Thomas S. Wootton High School

Angelique Sousani Twumasi, Bucknell University

Danial Araya, University of Wisconsin – Madison