The Posse Foundation was founded in 1989 and since has partnered with 64 colleges and universities across the country to provide scholarships to inner-city high school students the opportunity to attend school. In 2010, Posse was honored by the former President Barack Obama with a portion of his $1.4 million Nobel Prize Award which gave the Posse Foundation global and national recognition.
Posse’s Veterans Organization launched its veterans initiative in 2012, which recruits Post 9/11 veterans nationwide for 3 partner colleges and universities through the Posse Veterans Program. The program identifies, trains, and supports veterans interested in pursuing bachelor’s degrees with pre-collegiate training for one month in New York City. Those accepted into the program attend college as a part of a team of veterans or cohorts, usually around up to 10 veterans in a team.
My story of the program began with a simple email I received from an organization I belonged to in Los Angeles. I initially thought I would find out more about the program to share the information with other veterans. I did not intend to apply myself. I was strongly encouraged to apply in 2020 as we know as the Covid year. Working with the Census Bureau in 2020 brought such fulfillment that I went ahead and applied to Posse knowing that I was going to be selected. I purposely did not complete the application on time but because of Covid the organization extended the deadline.
