When senior Jheanelle Garriques was chosen as a Posse scholar nearly four years ago, the Brooklyn native never could have imagined the opportunities the University of Southern California would afford her during her undergraduate career, including the opportunity to create her own women’s writing collective.

But she's one of the last to be afforded the chance to do so.

Garriques was one of 12 students chosen to attend USC on a full-tuition leadership scholarship and is a member of the school’s first ever Posse. 

“There is a certain amount of pride in being able to say you’re the pioneers, the first people that came out and really set a tone for the program,” said Garriques.

Posse, now in its 25th year, is a dynamic leadership program that selects and trains high school seniors from large cities across the nation and most recently received $125,000 from President Obama’s Nobel Prize money. The groups of about 10, known as Posses, are made up of diverse students that bring a new perspective to their respective campuses.

But just as USC’s first Posse prepares to graduate this spring, the university is ending its relationship with the program.

Dean of Admission Tim Brunold explained that Posse’s cancellation had nothing to do with the quality of the students themselves or the goals of the program, but was decided by the Provost after weighing the costs and benefits of keeping the organization on campus.  

Despite ending its partnership with Posse, Dean Brunold ensured that the institution would continue with its aggressive improvement efforts to recruit students from diverse backgrounds and other parts of the country.

Syracuse University is another Posse school dealing with a similar situation on its campus. The university decided to scale down its Posse program, decreasing the total number of scholars admitted from three cities to one. 

“Funds are being moved from the Posse Scholars program toward other efforts aimed at ‘attracting the best and diverse students we can from across the nation,’” said Syracuse’s senior vice president for public affairs, Kevin Quinn.

But Posse students and mentors believe ending the program on campus will be to the detriment of the university.

“When I see myself surrounded by so many amazing people in my Posse and the effect that they’ve had on people at USC, I just see USC moving,” said senior Mushfiqur Chowdhury. 

Chowdhury says even though some students at USC only associate Posse with lower income level students and the inner city, he asserts that he and fellow Posse scholars have impacted the campus environment by daring to ask the hard questions and spark conversation. 

“Posse has made an impact amongst the people who think in a similar way, which is people who think in a very progressive manner and people who challenge themselves on a day-to-day basis,” said Chowdhury. 

Thomas Gustafson, an Associate Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at USC, was first introduced to Posse when Chowdhury took his first year seminar course. Gustafson has since become a mentor to Posse 3, the final cohort admitted to USC through Posse. 

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Gustafson wishes that those who make decisions about Posse at USC could be a professor in a classroom with these students.

“I just feel so strongly that whoever did this decision had no felt sense of what difference these students make,” Gustafson said.

Dr. Darnell Cole, an Associate Professor of Education at the Rossier School and mentor for Posse 2 students, echoed Gustafson’s sentiments. 

“Posse’s made a significant impact on the faculty’s views on undergraduates. They’re more than just students in a classroom; they’re people trying to find their way,” said Cole. 

Gustafson believes the students in his Posse “bring a different dimension to what happens [in] student life” all the while maintaining leadership positions on campus as RAs, through artistic outlets and by engaging with the community.

“They’re trying to create conversations on campus that promote learning and break down walls among students.”

Professor George Sanchez, Vice Dean for Diversity and Stategic Initiatives has seen his Posse of seniors bond and flourish over the years. He also says that without Posse, USC will have difficulty becoming a truly 21st-century university.

“I don’t see how USC gets there without programs like Posse. I don’t think it comes naturally just by faculty or administrators or even just the normal processes of admitting students,” said Sanchez. He continued, “Posse will go on. Posse will do very, very well but I do think that it does have a potential of showing USC how to in fact enact real programs that meet the needs of first generation college students and urban students coming from urban public school systems, which I think USC really has the potential to nourish and help develop for a national and international leadership. Without Posse, I think it’s much harder for USC to achieve those things.” 

Although Garriques’ formal relationship with USC and Posse is coming to an end, her adventures are just beginning. 

Her short-term goals include applying for two international fellowships, including a Fulbright in South Africa to continue her writing collective, Naked Narratives. Garriques plans to have self-identifying women come together to discuss beauty, adornment and their bodies as a part of an ethnography. 

“I’m hoping to just keep doing what I’m good at and what I’m passionate about,” Garriques said. 

One of Garriques’ ultimate goals is to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, like Posse’s president and founder, Deborah Bial, whom she cites as one of her biggest role models. As Garriques reflects on her time as a senior, she is aware now more than ever of the impact Posse made on her college experience and during her years at USC. 

“It’s probably been the best use of resources that they had or done in years and it’s really been a shame that they didn’t take the time out to really see all the beauty that could come out of all of that.”

Reach Staff Reporter Jessica Moulite here. Follow her on Twitter.