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Allen and Carranza Named Posse Scholars

Seniors Awarded Full-Ride Scholarships to Wisconsin and Lafeyette

Chris Bright and Norah Ludke

Two Posse Scholarship finalists have received full-ride scholarships to top tier schools. This year’s winners are seniors Maddie Allen and Wilmer Carranza. 

The Posse Foundation awards full-tuition scholarships to students with leadership talents, typically first-generation college students, for universities and colleges that the foundation partners with.

“I am really happy, [this opportunity] is really awesome, and it is great for me and my family. I feel very grateful,” said Allen, who has worked hard to be noticed in her classes, extracurricular activities, and in the pool of candidates for the Posse scholarship. Allen will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she will major in Computer Sciences.

Carranza will be attending Lafayette College and will also likely be majoring in Computer Science. Carranza has also worked incredibly hard throughout his high school career, and is a first-generation college student.

“Now I do not have to worry about how or where I am going to get the money [for college]… It is just a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders,” said Carranza.

Posse recruits scholars from ten cities around the country,including Washington D.C., Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and New York. In D.C., the Posse foundation partners with Bucknell University, Lafayette College, Sewanee: the University of the South, University of Rochester, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Allen and Carranza were nominated for the scholarship by the T.C. Scholarship Committee. They are among 30 nominations  and six finalists from T.C., and over 600 nominations from the greater D.C. Metro Area.During the selection process, Carranza and Allen both went through a series of group interviews with over 100 other nominees, and they were chosen as winners because of their outstanding and bright personalities.

While the experience was tough, it was extremely gratifying for Allen and Carranza. Thanks to the Posse Foundation, both students have the chance to go to pursue their dreams.