On December 4, Springbrook seniors Anthony Ramos, John Brown and Tariro Kandemiri received news that would change their lives. The Posse Foundation announced that it would be giving the students a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to colleges they were recruite

    The Posse Foundation is an organization that aims to help underrepresented students attend colleges they wish to attend. High school students from public schools can apply for scholarships to select colleges and universities participating in the program. The D.C. Recruitment office provides opportunities to apply for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Rochester, Sewanee: The University of the South, Lafayette College, Grinnell College and Bucknell University.

    This year, over 1600 applications were submitted to the organization from high schoolers. The application process is designed to showcase the character of the applicant.

    “I had to interact in a group discussion where we had to problem solve. I had to display my leadership skills to help push people to think outside of the box and to the best of  their abilities so that we could all come up with the best ideas,” Ramos said.

    The winners worked very hard inside and outside of school  in order to earn the award. All winners from Springbrook are currently taking AP and IB classes in addition to being school athletes.

    This accomplishment has been a great one for the winners and their families.

    “I was very happy for him and I was not surprised.  It validated one of my core beliefs that, smart is not something you are, it is something that you become by working hard. Anthony has put forth a lot of effort and has had to overcome many challenges in life and he deserves all that is coming to him,“ Assistant Principal and Ramos’s step-father Daniel Garcia stated.

    The Springbrook community is also amazed and proud of the efforts put forth by the winners.

    “I think the person who I wrote a recommendation for well deserves the scholarship. I’m impressed they were able to choose from a school that has such diversity,” math teacher Cyrus Ishikawa said. ”It’s great. It’s wonderful.”

    In the fall of 2014, Kandemiri and Brown will be attending Sewanee: The University of the South. Ramos will attend Bucknell where he intends to study chemical engineering.

    As winners of the award, students will also attend weekly training sessions with their posses in the Posse D.C. office starting this January. These meetings will help the winners prepare for college.