Posse Alum, Conn Dean Welcomes Newest Class of Posse Scholars
More than 125 New York City students were celebrated this January as the city’s newest Posse Scholars, earning over $32 million in full-tuition scholarships from leading colleges and universities across the country.
At two Awards Ceremonies held at The Times Center, Scholars were joined by family, friends, Posse alumni, and college and university representatives to celebrate their achievements and welcome them into the Posse community.
Selected from a highly competitive pool of more than 3,000 nominees, this year’s Scholars will attend one of Posse New York’s 11 partner institutions: Babson College, Brandeis University, Connecticut College, Franklin & Marshall College, Lafayette College, Lawrence University, Middlebury College, Smith College, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vanderbilt University, and Wheaton College.
Among those welcoming the newest Scholars was Posse alum Erika Smith, dean of the college and vice president for retention and success at Connecticut College. Reflecting on both the rigorous selection process and the journey ahead, Erika congratulated the students on what they had already accomplished.
"You did this!" she said. "The Posse selection process is both really exciting and incredibly competitive. All you had to do was show up and be your amazing, dazzling, brilliant selves—and you all did exactly that."
Erika also reflected on her own experience as a Posse Scholar.
"I remember being told at that time Posse was a leadership initiative," she said. "Had I been asked, I probably would have told you I didn’t think of myself as a leader."
Today, Erika has built a distinguished 25-year career in higher education. In addition to serving as dean and a vice president at Connecticut College, she also sits on the boards of both her undergraduate alma mater, Lehigh University, and her child’s independent school.
Erika earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Lehigh, a master’s in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and both a master’s and Ph.D. in social policy from Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Before joining Connecticut College, she spent 21 years at Brandeis University, where she served in several leadership roles, including dean of academic services.
Encouraging the new Scholars to envision the impact they will have, Erika shared that Posse alumni are using their "seats at the table" to advance their professions, strengthen their communities, and help shape the future.
"I cannot wait to see what the newest class of Posse Scholars have in store for years to come!" she said.
After completing eight months of pre-collegiate training, the newest Posse Scholars will enroll this fall as the Class of 2030 at their respective institutions, beginning the next chapter of their leadership journeys.
