Posse Foundation Awards 18 MCPS Students with Full-Tuition Scholarships

Eighteen Montgomery County Public School Students (MCPS) are recipients of full-tuition, four-year scholarships awarded by the Posse Foundation.

The students were honored at a virtual ceremony on Jan. 13, according to an announcement from MCPS.

The Posse program identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential that may have been overlooked by traditional college selection processes.

Nationally, 63 colleges and universities each offer full-tuition, merit scholarships to students throughout the country and create multicultural teams—called Posses—on each campus. These student teams receive professional guidance before and throughout college and provide support to one another.

On campus, these students serve in important leadership roles.

Below is a list of this year’s MCPS Posse scholarship recipients. The students come from 13 high schools and will be attending five different colleges.

• Carly Abbott, Quince Orchard High School, attending Sewanee: The University of the South
• Freddy Akpoly, Seneca Valley High School, attending University of Rochester
• Danial Araya, Thomas S. Wootton High School, University of Wisconsin – Madison
• Francisco Manuel Carbonell, Watkins Mill High School, attending University of Wisconsin – Madison
• Lissandro Alvarado Chavez, Sherwood High School, attending Bucknell University
• Elmer Cruz, Albert Einstein High School, attending Bucknell University
• Jenkins Darbney, Paint Branch High School, attending Sewanee: The University of the South
• Gabriella Diaz, Rockville High School, attending Bucknell University
• Erin Fails, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, attending Lewis & Clark College
• Enistin (Moon) Gomes, James Hubert Blake High School, attending Sewanee: The University of the South
• Tony Calderon Gonzalez, Montgomery Blair High School, attending Sewanee: The University of the South
• Lily Groff, Sherwood High School, attending Lafayette College
• Ariful Haque, John F. Kennedy High School, attending Lafayette College
• Jazmin Sevillano, Wheaton High School, attending Sewanee: The University of the South
• Kaleab Tefera, Wheaton High School, attending University of Rochester
• Angelique Sousani Twumasi, Thomas S. Wootton High School, attending Bucknell University
• Brianna Villegas, Quince Orchard High School, attending University of Wisconsin – Madison
• Ronnie Ward, Walter Johnson High School, attending Lafayette College

Correction: The original announcement from MCPS identified 17 students, not 18. This story has been updated to reflect the current announcement from MCPS than now includes Tony Calderon Gonzalez from Montgomery Blair High School.

We were notified of an additional student who is receiving a scholarship from the Posse Foundation, bringing the total number of MCPS recipients to 18. Congratulations to Blair High School student Tony Calderon Gonzalez! https://t.co/M4zD0FQeB0

— MCPS (@MCPS) January 27, 2021

About Michelle Queen

View all posts by Michelle Queen