March 26, 2008
Outstanding UPCS seniors land prestigious ‘Posse’ scholarships
Two seniors at the University Park Campus School, Patricia Sanchez and Tri Trang, were awarded four-year scholarships by the Posse Foundation of Boston. In the fall, both will attend Union College in Schenectady, NY, tuition free. Trang and Sanchez are the first Worcester high school students to receive this prestigious and highly competitive award, each totaling more than $190,000 over four years.
Trang and Sanchez were selected, along with sixty other Boston area high school seniors, from over 1,000 nominees in an exhaustive selection process to identify outstanding leaders from urban high schools.
The Posse Foundation recruits and trains outstanding young people from urban high schools and sends them to elite colleges and universities as part of small groups called "posses." In addition to the scholarship, students receive support from the Foundation throughout their time at college. Now, instead of waiting for their acceptance letters, Trang and Sanchez will spend the spring developing friendships and improving their skills for college in the fall.
For Trang and Sanchez, both first-generation college students, the Posse scholarship represents an unparalleled opportunity. Having a "posse" join her at Union College is a big plus, Sanchez said. "The best part about it is that I am not going by myself. It will still be an adventure, but I’m not by myself."
The scholarship arrived as a surprising reward after years of academic dedication, said Trang. "Hard work gives you unexpected surprises, and this was definitely unexpected."
Chosen for their academic achievements and outstanding character, Trang and Sanchez have shown impressive leadership throughout their careers at UPCS. Both rank among the top ten students in their class; Sanchez is the UPCS senior class president, while Trang has excelled in his internship at UMass Memorial Hospital as well as in courses at Clark University.
Trang and Sanchez stand out as true leaders among their peers, says June Eressy, UPCS principal. "They are incredibly dedicated to learning and to the UPCS community. This is a wonderful opportunity for two very deserving students."
The University Park Campus School was established by Clark and the Worcester Public Schools as a public secondary school for the children of the Main South neighborhood and has been recognized as the top urban high school in Massachusetts and one of the top urban high schools in the country.
Since its launch in 1989, The Posse Foundation – which has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC – has sent over 2,100 students to college. These students have won more than $210 million in scholarships from the colleges and universities that participate in the program.
For more information about Worcester’s Posse Scholarship recipients, contact Nina Keough, College Transition and Alumni Coordinator at UPCS, nkeough@clarku.edu; 508-799-3591.
To learn more online about UPCS, visit www.upcsinstitute.org; details about the The Posse Foundation are available at www.possefoundation.org.