“I never would have dropped out of college if I had my posse with me.” One simple student statement sparked the idea for the Posse scholarship program organized in 1989, which has since partnered with more than 40 colleges and universities in granting more than $400 million in scholarships nationwide. Pepperdine inaugurated its own Posse program last year and boasts two Posses of 10 hand-selected students, each from the urban Washington, D.C., area, who receive full tuition scholarships based on their strengths in student leadership.
Dr. Dan Rodriguez, associate professor of religion and hispanic studies, shared his honor in being chosen as the faculty mentor to this year’s Posse freshmen. With a long history as a student, faculty member and parent of students here at Pepperdine, Rodriguez explained that the Posse student leaders would hopefully enrich the already great opportunity of attending this institution.
“I think Pepperdine will always offer scholarships for people with academic excellence. And while the Posse scholars certainly had the academics to get into Pepperdine on their own, we are looking for more — for their potential to make a positive impact in terms of student leadership on campus,” Rodriguez said. “Just bringing underrepresented groups on campus doesn’t necessarily mean that they will change the culture of our university.”
Along with Dr. Jeff Banks, visiting professor of humanities and teacher education, director of the Social Action and Justice Colloquium and faculty mentor to the original Posse students, Rodriguez holds weekly group and individual meetings with the students to help guide them through their first two years on campus.
“Some of these kids come from challenging backgrounds. There needs to be someone there for them when they’re down or they’re hurting or they’re lonely. That’s the real concept,” Banks said.
While the weekly meetings are organized to a curriculum and intended to be educational, both mentors explained that the underlying importance is a sense of tight-knit community and that topics can range from homesickness and time management to proper etiquette when dealing with adults.
“In our weekly workshops, just getting to see them encourage each other and demonstrate how in tune they are with each other is a real highlight,” Rodriguez said. “You can see the difference it makes to students to know ‘there really are people that know me and care about me.’”
Sophomore Posse member Demi McCoy was drawn to the concept of the group support system after being told about the program by her high school guidance counselor. After eight months of team building and academic workshops with the nine other members before coming to campus last fall, McCoy said that she was grateful to have a group of core friends when starting out her college experience.
“It’s so great to have all of these connections through the Posse. It makes it so much easier to tap into a lot of different areas on campus,” McCoy said. “It’s like networking times 10.”
Faculty mentor Rodriguez explained that Posse is a whole new category of scholarship because it goes well beyond just leading in the classroom.
“Pepperdine invests in these students in hopes that they will join clubs, start organizations and really make a positive impact on the campus,” Rodriguez said. “In four years, there will be 40 Posse students on campus, and we hope to notice that not only the numbers have changed, but the culture and public presence on campus.”
McCoy has certainly found niches of her own on campus as the financial director of Women of Color, Los Angeles mission program coordinator for the Pepperdine Volunteer Center, the soprano section leader in the Genesis Gospel Choir and a noted spoken word artist, just to mention a few activities.
“I think we help bring a lot of D.C. culture and East Coast perspective here to Pepperdine,” McCoy said. “We are trained to get on campus and lead, but we also bring some culture to help this campus become more well-rounded.”
All of the students hail from the D.C., Virginia and Maryland region, specifically school districts that are usually overlooked by high-ranking institutions and college fairs that assume low numbers of potential prospective students based on the socioeconomic status of the area.
First-year Posse member Ashley Thurmond says that going to school so far from home was initially a culture shock, but it was nothing that the Posse encouragement couldn’t ease.
“We were so well-prepared before coming here, and even had amazing mentors once we arrived on campus,” Thurmond said. “And having that kind of support, that sense of home, just reminds me of all that we have done together and all that we can achieve together in the future.”
With such effort put into selecting student leaders and organizing the program here at Pepperdine, both mentors and students alike feel the pressure to work toward proving the value in the Posse program.
“This is a big investment, and I’m guessing that upper administration is looking at it and saying, ‘Is it going to pay off?’” Banks said. “And it’s my job and Dan’s job to make it pay off so that Posse continues.”
Rodriguez agreed that the ultimate goals in graduation rate, while looming, are important to the destiny of this program on the Pepperdine campus.
“We are looking for 100 percent graduation rate, which is probably asking a lot, but the expectations are higher because these kids are getting an incredible scholarship for leadership, so if even just one student doesn’t work out, it’s going to hurt,” Rodriguez said.
But freshman Thurmond is up to the task, as she has become connected on campus as the manager of the girl’s basketball team and as a member of both Women of Color and the Step Team. She perceives the pressure as just an extra spirit to get involved and achieve on campus.
“It’s more of a motivation to find our niche here at Pepperdine,” Thurmond said. “Since it’s just the beginning of the program here at Pepperdine, we have to think a lot about how we work with each other and how we represent ourselves to others.”
Despite the pressure to justify Pepperdine’s investment in these student leaders, Posse members and mentors are optimistic about the future for the program on this campus.
“These kids have got talents and gifts, and so now we just have to get them to that place where the need and the gifts coincide,” Rodriguez said. “I’m very hopeful for this great experiment, and I want to see it succeed.”
