HISD Students Selected to Represent Houston in Inaugural ‘Posse’ Group

Posse Foundation to send 23 HISD Students to Elite Universities

The Posse Foundation, a national nonprofit organization designed to send students from urban districts to elite universities to serve in a pre-established peer support network, selected 23 HISD students to represent the city.

In its debut in Houston, the Posse Foundation only had 30 slots available of which the majority went to students from 13 HISD high schools.

“We are thrilled that the Posse Foundation expanded to Houston and honored that the majority of the slots went to our students,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said. “Our students will be an excellent asset to this elite network and set high standards for other posses to follow.”

The purpose of these groups is to help public high school students succeed by placing them in supportive, multicultural teams of 10 students, also known as posses.

More than 500 students were nominated for the elite Houston group and underwent a rigorous three-stage interview process involving evaluation of all facets of their character, leadership skills and academic potential. The selected Posse scholars will now go through training for the next eight months as they form their posse for their respective campuses.

The Posse Foundation will be sending the selected Houston students to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas.

Since its inception in 1989, the Posse Foundation has sent more than 4,000 students to about 40 universities and has netted nearly $500 million in scholarships.

Selected HISD Posse Scholars:

• Oluwatosin Ajiboye, DeBakey High School for Health Professions
• Jessica Nguyen, DeBakey High School for Health Professions
• Modupe Olufemi, DeBakey High School for Health Professions
• Andrea Gomez, DeBakey High School for Health Professions
• Otisha Byrd, DeBakey High School for Health Professions
• Maritza Vazquez-Trejo, Challenge Early College High School
• Kristel Bohler, Challenge Early College High School
• Dancie Jones, Challenge Early College High School
• Daniel Chavez, Challenge Early College High School
• Raul Pineda, East Early College High School
• Mustafa Hussein, Westside High School
• Quan Nguyen, Westside High School
• Alexandria Jones, Westside High School
• Jesus Del Rio, Scarborough High School
• Jenisha Patel, Scarborough High School
• Emma Basen-Engquist, Carnegie Vanguard High School
• Gissell Montoya, North Houston Early College High School
• Aleja Newman, Lamar High School
• Valerie Salas, Eastwood Academy
• Emilio Alvarado, Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center
• Isabella Castillo, Mount Carmel Academy
• Darius Pitre, Lamar High School
• Emmanuella Anyiam, Westbury High School