Sixteen Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students have been named recipients of full-tuition, four-year scholarships from the Posse Foundation. The Posse program identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential that may have been overlooked by traditional college selection processes.

Nationally, more than 60 colleges and universities each offer full-tuition, merit scholarships to students throughout the country and create multicultural teams—called Posses—on each campus. These student teams receive professional guidance before and throughout college and provide support to one another.

On campus, these students serve in important leadership roles. The students were honored at a ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at the Lincoln Theatre.

This year’s recipients come from 12 high schools and will attend six different colleges and universities. The Posse Scholar students from MCPS and the colleges they will be attending are:

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Nolawit Mekonnen, Sewanee: The University of the South

James Hubert Blake High School
Nevaeh-Lyonelle Forbin, Lewis & Clark College
Gaelle Rosius, Bucknell University
Aaron Wallace, Sewanee: The University of the South

Clarksburg High School
Navya Koganti, University of Rochester

Gaithersburg High School
Valeria Lopez, Bucknell University
Ishara Sainju, University of Rochester

Walter Johnson High School
Loic Nsoga-Mohab, Bucknell University

Northwest High School
Katherine Gardiner, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Paint Branch High School
Sandra Djayeola, Lafayette College
Melody Segal, University of Rochester

Rockville High School
Nicolas Rozo, Lafayette College

Springbrook High School
Camila Polanco, Sewanee: The University of the South

Watkins Mill High School
Olivier Payen, University of Rochester

Wheaton High School
Jeffers Monteil, University of Rochester
Gabriela Blanco Reyes, Lafayette College