by Ryan Bada // Technology and Advertising Editor
This year, two students from Academy of Medical Arts earned a full-ride scholarship to the school of their choice through the Posse Scholarship. But first off, what is the Posse Scholarship?
Carson High’s college counselor Ms. Engel described Posse as “a full four-year scholarship offered by some of the esteemed universities around the nation such as UC Berkeley, Northwestern, and Pepperdine. This organization started about 30 years ago from a young woman who talked to a young man and she talked about how she wouldn’t failed college if she had a ‘posse’ with her. She then got the idea that it’ll be great if students could go to college with other students they already know so they could have some support system because a lot of times, when high school students go off to college, they don’t know anybody.”
These two hard working students from AMA are Eric Tabuyo and Fiorina Talaba. Eric is part of Students Run LA, a college peer counselor, and a co-president of HOSA-Future Health Professionals. Fiorina is also a college peer counselor, president of AMA’s leadership, co-captain of the school’s academic decathlon, and is currently the vice president of Volunteer Center Youth Coalition, which she’s been a part of since 9th grade.
According to Eric and Fiorina, the scholarship was a long and difficult process but nonetheless, they were able to receive this prestigious scholarship.
Eric explained how the process worked in order to be one step closer to the scholarship. “There were three interviews. The first interview had over 100-200 students so it was hard to really stand out from a large pool of high school students when the judges were asking questions to everyone. The 2nd interview was more of a personal interview as I was having a one-on-one interview with people from Posse. And the third and last interview was with all the 20 finalists for that one school they want to commit to and we got into smaller groups and discuss about public issues and our leadership. Overall, every round felt nerve-wracking considering that everyone else seemed to be really intelligent. But I had to believe in myself, bring confidence to the table, and soon enough I got into the school that I want to attend for the next few years.”
Although both of them have applied to similar scholarships, they each felt that Posse was the perfect scholarship for them.
Eric stated, “I was very blessed and happy that I was matched to Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York, which was my top choice. I wanted to go there because not only is it a full-tuition scholarship but the school offers mentorship and secured internships that would benefit my career path for the next few years of my life.”
Fiorina said, “I chose Kalamazoo College as my number one choice because of it was a perfect fit for me. The population size of the college was ideal for me and it was within the city so I could be able to explore career opportunities as an added advantage. Kalamazoo also offers study abroad programs that give me the opportunity to travel. Overall, Kalamazoo gives me the benefits I need and I’m happy that Kalamazoo offered this scholarship.”
Even though Eric and Fiorina are attending to different colleges, they both want to major in Biology, specifically in the Pre-Med program. They both have bright futures ahead of themselves as they are prepared to move on to the next chapter in their lives.