The UW-Madison POSSE Foundation held a celebratory dinner Monday night at the Pyle Center in recognition of its first four graduating scholars, who will officially finish school with their commencement in May.
Founded in 2002, the program initially selected 20 diverse, academically exceptional high school students from the Chicago area, gave each a four-year scholarship and set them up together in posses.\ The posses, aimed at creating a network between multicultural students, were designed to help propagate diversity on campus by allowing students of different backgrounds to thrive.
""I'd probably feel pretty comfortable [on campus] anyway,"" said graduating scholar Jing Jing Wang. ""But it's nice to know that if anything goes wrong, you have people to fall back on.""
Angelina Orozco, another one of the four graduating, said the program has helped connect her with others who understand where she has come from —some even being from her same high school. Over the years she has lost touch with some members of her original posse, but she maintains friendships with many others.
Orozco is originally from Honduras, where she hopes to someday construct a medical clinic to help combat the nation's poverty problems.
""I'm very grateful,"" said Orozco. ""Coming here, you know you are a smart kid, but just didn't have the advantages others do.""
Also among the graduating scholars are Japan native Momoko Sato and Kannitha Sith, who fled to the United States with her parents to escape violence in her native country of Cambodia.
Since its formation in 2002, the POSSE program has recruited 80 students from Chicago and Los Angeles, with 22 more expected to arrive this fall.
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