In September, guidance counselors and community-based organizations recommended 1,100 students from Northern Virginia, Washington and three counties in Maryland -- Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Prince George's.
The foundation selected 41 students from that list through a three-month process that involved a group evaluation and one-on-one interviews. They looked at academics, leadership abilities and interpersonal skills.
Students expressed their preferences for one of four colleges -- Lafayette, Sewanee, Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., and Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. The colleges interviewed the students and after they applied, offered 10 scholarships each. Lafayette offered an additional scholarship because of extra funding.
Weekly sessions to prepare
The Posse students will have to attend weekly sessions for the next eight months to prepare them for college. The process allows them to bond, learn how handle the rigors of college life and set up organizations on campus that promote diversity and communication, Mistrett said.
Each college's posse must meet as a group every week with a college mentor during the first two years of college. The mentor meets with each student individually twice a month.
Once in college, Posse students shine, Mistrett said. Since the foundation was started in 1989, more than 90 percent of the 2,100 Posse students have graduated from college, according to the foundation.
"They're powerful young people," she said. "They see opportunities, not barriers."
Renvall, 17, of Arnold emigrated from Finland when she was a toddler and learned English at school. She said she hopes to become a doctor and plans to major in physics or biology at Sewanee.
`A weight lifted off'
Having the scholarship is like having "a weight lifted off," she said. Now the International Baccalaureate student with a 4.1 GPA said she can focus on academics.
Renvall said she thinks her posse will be a great help to her in college, especially during the first few months of meeting new people.
"You don't have to go through that awkward phase," she said.
Henderson, 17, of Glen Burnie said he will study engineering and hopes to play football at Lafayette, although a "heartbreaking" knee injury in the third game of the season sidelined him for the rest of the year. His schedule is full with five Advanced Placement classes, as well as the Hispanic Honors Society, Student Government Association and the STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) Club.
Henderson, who has a 3.6 GPA, said he eventually would like to work for the CIA or the National Security Agency. He said he thinks the Posse concept of support is solid.
"I've always believed that it's important to work together," he said.
