Posse brings New York City students to Carlisle

By Anne Petraeus, Sentinel Correspondent

In an attempt to diversify its student body, Dickinson College in Carlisle last year became a member of the national Posse Foundation Program. The Posse Program, started in New York City in 1989, recruits academically qualified students from urban public high schools to attend some of the country's best colleges and universities as a "posse," or group. The Posse students benefit educationally and the school benefits because the program increases the interaction between culturally diverse groups of students. The Posse Foundation's website, www.possefoundation.org" says: "The Posse Program began as a response to the many talented students who were leaving New York City for college only to leave school within a few months." These students explained that if they had had their friends, or a "posse," with them, they would not have dropped out. Any high school senior can apply to be a Posse student regardless of race, religion or gender -- the only requirement is high academic standing. However, community involvement and leadership qualities are also a large part of the selection process. The Posse Program carefully selects and sends students to a college as a team, allowing them to support each other through their experiences and helping them adjust to life away from the city.

Posse Programs exist in a number of large cities. Dickinson is associated with the Posse New York City program. Dickinson Vice President Robert Massa made the initial proposal to the Posse Foundation in the spring of 2000. The college committed to becoming a member shortly thereafter, accepting its first "posse" for the 2001-2002 school year. In any given year, more than 1,000 students compete for the scholarships.

The Posse students at Dickinson say the selection process is long, nerve-wracking and intimidating -- involving three rounds of screening.

The first round is a series of workshops which highlight the students' public speaking, leadership skills, motivation and teamwork. Dickinson sophomore Posse scholar Valerie Harmon described the first round of the selection process: "There was a huge Posse meeting where they gave you the introduction about the scholarship, what it is you'd be a part of, and what being a Posse member is all about," she explains. "They tell you it's a leadership scholarship, I think on purpose, and at this point you're one in a room of maybe 100, and there's a thousand other people competing for this scholarship. So everyone hears 'leadership scholarship,' and they're all trying to show how they're a leader within the room. You can imagine how horrible it was!" About 60 percent of the applicants from the first round are invited back for a second round, which consists of an individual interview with two evaluators.

For the last selection round, 20 students are recommended to each of the partner schools based on the students' preferences and what the schools themselves are seeking.

Administrators from the schools go to their target city and personally interview and select 10 out of these 20 students and admit them as regularly matriculated students with full academic scholarships. The first year that Posse was implemented at Dickinson, the administrators had such a hard time choosing, they decided to take 12 students instead of the usual 10. "It's truly amazing because these students are the best of the best," says Steve Pinto, Dickinson's admissions counselor and coordinator of multicultural recruitment. "They have all accomplished amazing things and it makes it nearly impossible to choose."

Buoyed by eight months of workshops on academic success, team building, and cross-cultural communication and leadership, the students arrive ready to contribute to campus life. Posse scholars are involved in a wide array of campus activities. The students seem especially excited about the abroad programs at Dickinson. Many of the school's Posse scholars are planning on going, or already have gone, abroad. "Dickinson has given me so many opportunities, I'm really grateful to be a part of this," Harmon reflects. However, because these students are coming from a major metropolis to the small town of Carlisle, some students have had difficulty adjusting. Rachel Sorrentino, a freshman Posse scholar, confesses that she "had a really hard time adjusting in the beginning, especially due to homesickness and culture shock." Glenda Cabral, a fellow Posse freshman, can sympathize: "It's very difficult coming from New York City to such a small town, but slowly I've gotten used to it and learned from it." Harmon agrees, "We're coming from a major metropolis where there are hordes of different kinds of people. Here, we're like a dot on a blank page." Each Posse group has a designated mentor to help its members to deal specifically with issues of fitting in and adjusting.

Norm Jones, the director of student development and mentor for Posse 2 (Class of 2006), explains: "Giving the Posse students a mentor is to provide a continuation of what Posse has established. It's a way to support the scholars and help them through their time here." Harmon speaks very fondly of the Posse 1 (Class of 2005) mentor, Dean of Students Joyce Bylander: "She's been our everything. There were times when I seriously wouldn't have stayed if it wasn't for that lady," Harmon says. Limor Levy, a fellow sophomore Posse scholar, confides: "Dean Bylander is awesome. She has the answer to all questions; she's been like a second mom. She has put her heart into Posse." However, many Posse students suggest that Dickinson doesn't realize that diversity goes beyond just color. Harmon comments, "I understand that Dickinson has made this enormous outreach to get the campus more diverse, but I don't feel as though that energy goes beyond bringing more than just color. When you're a Posse student, you're trained to believe that diversity is much more than color -- religion, how you dress, where you're from -- and I don't feel as though Dickinson has made much of an outreach to appeal to diverse white students." She continues, "And some of the minority students, they're no different than any of the other students; they're just brown." Levy has similar views: "We don't need diversity as much in color as we do in personality and in culture," she says. Nonetheless, Levy says with a smile: "Posse definitely has started to enrich the campus. We have made an impact. Not the impact, but I see it getting there, and that's the exciting part."