Celebrating Two Decades of Success at Bucknell
When Bucknell University welcomed its first Posse cohort from Washington, D.C. in 2004, it made a bet on a simple but powerful idea: that extraordinary young leaders, recruited and trained together as a team, would not only succeed in college but also transform it. Two decades later, that bet has paid off many times over.
Today, Bucknell is one of Posse’s tri-city partners, recruiting cohorts of 10 Scholars each year from Washington, D.C., Boston, and Los Angeles. Posse Scholars receive four-year full-tuition scholarships and the sustained support of a dedicated faculty or staff mentor. Since the partnership began, Bucknell has welcomed more than 600 Posse Scholars to campus.
Guiding the program is Caro Mercado, Bucknell’s Director for Access and Student Success Experience and the University’s Posse Liaison. For Caro, the work is personal. The daughter of Puerto Rican parents who settled in upstate New York, she grew up in a working-class household where college was not the expected path — especially for a woman. She commuted by city bus to the State University at Albany while working 25 to 30 hours a week and went on to earn a master’s degree in counseling and a doctorate from the University of Maryland.
"I recognize the need to be a mentor because I, too, experienced what they have experienced in seeking a higher education," says Caro.
That lived experience has shaped her perspective on Bucknell’s investment in Posse.
"Higher education is an investment regardless of how one arrives at a campus," she notes. "Those chosen to be Posse Scholars bring more than just smarts; they bring leadership, commitment to excellence, and intentionality to be campus contributors in and outside of the classroom."
Posse Scholars bring leadership, commitment to excellence, and intentionality to contribute in and outside of the classroom.
The proof is everywhere. Posse Scholars lead in classrooms, student organizations, and the greater Lewisburg community; they conduct research, study abroad, and have been chosen by their peers as student commencement speakers. Caro points to Angel Eunisse Yanga, a member of the Posse Los Angeles’s Class of 2028, as one shining example. In just two years, Angel has earned the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship for her research on bat tracking, spent a summer in Uganda tagging bats with an international infectious-disease research team, and was named a 2026 Jeff Ubben Posse Fellow, earning a summer working alongside Bayer AG CEO Bill Anderson.
The partnership’s rewards flow in both directions. At Bucknell’s anniversary celebration this past fall, the University honored mentors who have devoted themselves to multiple four-year cohorts. Many say the experience has reshaped how they teach, advise, and understand their purpose as educators. Caro points to a student-centered culture as the foundation of the partnership.
"I credit the success of the Bucknell -Posse partnership to the commitment of University leaders, faculty, and staff in supporting the promise of the Posse program and our sustained relationship with our city partners," she says.
Looking ahead, Caro is candid about the headwinds facing higher education, from rising costs to shifting demographics.
"Our Scholars are facing so many changes, expectations, and challenges to their pursuit of higher education that it will require a different kind of diligence, intentionality, and preparation to overcome many of these threats in their wake," Caro notes. "These changes are requiring campuses to reevaluate how they design and deliver education while assessing the myriad needs students bring to campus."
She is equally confident about what Posse offers in response.
"If ever a generation of students needed role models and change agents," she says, "the Posse program is designed to mold and infuse its scholars with these necessary qualities and aspirations. I feel confident that the next chapter of the Bucknell Posse program will continue to shape, promote, and support future scholars towards greatness."
