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Monique Seow and Eleazar Adjehoun are students at Pathways College Prep School in St. Albans, NY who have been selected to be Posse Scholars. Monique will be attending Lawrence University in Wisconsin and Eleazar will be attending Depauw University in Indiana. Here’s what they had to say about ECHS, being a Posse Scholar and what they hope to accomplish in the future.
NYCAN: How did you get involved with the Posse Scholars program?
Monique: I got involved with the Posse Scholars program through my guidance counselor at my school.
Eleazar: I was introduced to the Posse Scholars program by my guidance counselor, Mrs. Legere, and was later nominated by her. After progressing through the various rounds of the Dynamic Assessment Process, I received the incredible news that I had been selected as a Posse Scholar to DePauw University.
NYCAN: What’s your favorite part of the program?
Monique: My favorite part about being a Posse scholar is being a part of a family. My Posse has opened doors for me such as providing me with a personal writing coach to shape me into a better writer for college and in life.
Eleazar: The fact that I’ll be attending college with my posse and have them available as a source of support, coupled with my weekly posse meetings are by far the most enjoyable aspect of the program, aside from the part where my tuition is being covered of course. These weekly meetings are so enriching simply because they afford my posse and I the unique opportunity to get to know each other and form a bond that goes well beyond our weekly meetings and will in turn translate into an amazing support system that will enable us to do be able to support each other and do great things and impact our university campus constructively.
NYCAN: What is a college summit peer leader and how did you become one?
Monique: A college summit peer leader is an individual that is a self-confident advocate who encourages and helps their community to be the best that they can be. I became a peer leader because a senior before me recognized that I had leadership potential.
Eleazar: I became a college summit peer leader in the summer of my junior year after being nominated and selected to take part in an enrichment program at Monmouth University through College Summit. As a peer leader I am responsible for assisting my classmates and on a larger scale, all the members of my school community in any way possible. Primarily my responsibilities as a Peer Leader revolve around assisting my fellow seniors in making their transition from high school to their college or university. I aid in the college application process and all things in between, including but not limited to: constructing their college essays and completing their applications.
NYCAN: What has this leadership role taught you?
Monique: This leadership role has shown me that I am very strong and I can accomplish more than what I thought. It has taught me to become more independent and more accountable for myself.
Eleazar: My position as a peer leader has proven to be extremely rewarding. I’ve learned to manage my time well and even how to work collaboratively in a group. It’s taught me to be resourceful and how to manage multiple things at once. Most importantly my role as a college summit peer leader has taught me that leaders come in all forms and has left me with an even more sound sense of how to lead and what leadership is.
NYCAN: What are your goals for college and beyond and how do you think being a Posse Scholar will help you get there?
Monique: My goal for college is to head to campus with my Posse and make a change. I want to study pre-med or engineering. Nothing is concrete yet but I would love to continue graduate school through the Posse program and explore the world. Posse will help me get there because they will guide me to become a well rounded leader that is prepared to work hard in the world.
Eleazar: I am pursuing a career in physician assisting and at the same time I am exploring my interest and options. Posse has provided me with a wealth of resources and I intend to utilize all things available to me. Posse has made an invaluable contribution to my success, which goes much further than easing the financial burden of college. As the first in my family to go to college, there was much speculation of how I’d make the progression from high school to college, but Posse has eliminated much of that nervousness. The Posse Foundation has provided me with the tools to create my own success and without a doubt motivated me further to follow my aspirations and do everything I do to the best of my abilities.