First Posse Poised for Milestone Graduation

Author: Claire Bourne

Dean of Ross Commons Janine Clookey gazes at the nine drawings that adorn her office wall. She looks at them for a long time, contemplating each one by one. Eight depict faces - some drawn with colorful magic markers, some sticking to a simple blue pen - while one illustrates a black rose caught between wind and sunshine. The tenth (because there should have been 10) is noticeably missing. "I love them all," says Clookey, unable to peel her eyes away.

She is talking about Posse I, the first fruit of Middlebury College's burgeoning relationship with the New York City-based Posse Foundation. The group of nine, minus Tiffany Holmes, one of four women who passed away in an auto accident in April 2000, will be among the 493 seniors to graduate from the College on May 25.

This milestone comes on the heels of the College's decision to extend its contract with the Posse Foundation for another five years - until 2012. "The success of Posse I confirms that the Posse model works," said Dean of Enrollment Planning Mike Schoenfeld, who was instrumental in establishing ties with the Foundation in 1998.

Middlebury Trustee Robin Graham first brought the Posse Foundation to Schoenfeld's attention five years ago. College representatives met with Posse staff in New York and ultimately decided that the Foundation's mission matched the College's goals for institutional diversity.

Posse I's journey to this pivotal moment began long before its members' matriculation at Middlebury. It started in the Fall of 1998 when a group of 400-plus Posse hopefuls gathered in New York City for a series of preliminary interviews and workshops with the Foundation. All were students at New York public schools where they had demonstrated superior academic and leadership skills, and all were looking for the opportunity to join a "multicultural team" destined for one of 17 highly selective colleges and universities.

Paula Yepes '03 remembers this first round vividly. "We all had to form a huge circle and go around saying one word to describe ourselves. Everyone was throwing out SAT words," she explains. She didn't think she would be chosen to move onto the second phase of the selection process - the individual interview. Not only was she invited back for a one-on-one interview, but she ultimately found herself in the final group of 20 scholarship candidates.

The remaining stage of recruitment consisted of a workshop involving Posse staff members, Middlebury representatives and the 20 finalists. "After the 20-person interview, I burst out crying," Yepes recalls. "I wasn't upset, it was just that the people [I met at the workshop] were so valuable. I was so happy."

The College's Admissions Office worked with the Posse Foundation to whittle the remaining group down to a team of 10 Posse Scholars.
After a 34-week program of leadership, cross-cultural communication and academic excellence workshops, Posse I was ready to make the move from the buzzing metropolis of the Big Apple to the sleepy College on the Hill.

As Adam Cohen '03 notes, the transition was not an easy one. He admits thinking that his weekly meetings with Clookey, Posse I's mentor, were not necessary. "I'm totally fine," he remembers saying to himself. "She should spend her time with students who actually have problems." Soon, however, he realized what an important role Clookey played in his life at the College. "I vented about the cold reaction I received from some of my Battell hallmates, about getting a bad quiz grade in philosophy even though I did all the reading, about my dad being disappointed with my first college paper," he says.

"Each person has his or her own transition to make," Clookey explains. "Each person has to grow up. They have all done it, and it's a beautiful thing."

Yepes also points to Clookey as a pillar of strength. "I don't know where I would be if it weren't for her," she affirms. "She understands every challenge and has seen me grow."

Perhaps the greatest challenge to face Middlebury's inaugural Posse was overcoming the grief born from the loss of Tiffany Holmes during their first year at the College. "It was exceptionally painful for them," Schoenfeld recalls. The remaining nine members, along with Clookey, pulled through the experience thanks to support from one another. "When you work through grief together, walls have to come down," Clookey notes.

Middlebury's rigorous academic program also put Posse I to the test. "Academics were my biggest challenge," says Yepes. "I felt enormous pressure because I wanted to excel. I didn't understand why I had to try so hard when other people got good grades so much more easily."

Constantly striving for excellence in and out of the classroom, Posse I has been a visible force since its arrival on campus. "Apathy is not a word associated with this group of students," said Clookey. "One of their greatest challenges is to give themselves a break sometimes." Each member of Posse I brings something different to the table. Although all based out of New York, they boast roots in France, Russia, Colombia and Korea. Their academic interests are as varied as their backgrounds and include theater, Japanese, political science, French, philosophy and art history.

Over the course of the past four years, Yepes, Cohen and their fellow Posse members - Angela Boulart, Lollinez GuadalupePerez, Hosam Mekdad, Oksana Romina, Jason Spiegler, Damian Washington and Sara Yun - have come to redefine what it means to be a Middlebury student. Schoenfeld maintains, "Posse will have failed if Posse members leave without feeling like Middlebury students." But according to Cohen, his Middlebury circle - one that extends far beyond his Posse - has become "like a third parent."

"It is good to notice a shift in 'affiliation' of the students from an initial sense of belonging to Posse to a final identification with the rest of the College community," said Associate Provost for Institutional Diversity Roman Graf.

"We are all very individual," notes Yepes. "But we know we have each others' backs."

As Posse I members stand on the threshold of new challenges, they leave the College knowing that they have set an example for subsequent Posses with their legacy of strong academic achievement and their dedication to affecting change.

"I am not astounded by their success," Clookey explains on the eve of their graduation, "but I delight in it." She turns her eyes from the nine self-portraits and says, "They are one of the special things in my career, and I am really feeling it for them right now."