Posse, plus: Omari Matthew Takes Leadership to a Whole New Level

Omari Matthew is the epitome of celebrity. The list, alone, of all of his various
activities on campus would prove intimidating to most average Colby folk.  He is an aspiring president of the Taiko drumming club and vice-president of the Students Teaching About Equality and Peace. Did I mention he will also be a CA next year, and was recently in the process of creating an independent major? Yet, he takes the daily burden in stride. “I’m a Posse scholar. It is what is expected of us.”
 
Perhaps a bit more explanation is required: Posse scholarships run through the Posse Foundation. The Posse Foundation works with academically gifted public high school students, training them as leaders and then dispatching them (on full scholarship) to prestigious colleges around the country. It was founded in 1989, and over the past 20 plus years has sent 3,638 students to receive higher education. Last year, Omari Matthew was lucky enough to be one of those students. Matthew had almost overlooked Posse, when his guidance counselor insisted that he apply. “The first time I heard about [Posse] I didn’t think I had a chance. They take something like one out of every 300 applicants.” Three rounds of interviews later, Matthew found himself with a full-ride to Colby, a long way away from his Bronx, NY home.
 
Matthew was more than happy to talk at length about his various involvements on campus. Since leadership is one of the primary focuses of the Posse Foundation, it was only natural that he would jump in as soon as he arrived on campus. “I really try to take up leadership in as many clubs as possible. Any club that I am interested in, I try to become an active member of it.” Matthew has even gone so far as to create his own club where he found the existing offerings to fall short. He is in the process of starting a visual arts appreciation group. It would, he explained, be an opportunity for students to meet and watch movies, read, and talk. He is perhaps most excited, however, about his upcoming roll as CA in Heights next fall. “I’ma reform that dorm!” he joked animatedly. “Heights will no longer be known as the sketchy dorm of Colby. I’m going to try my best to create an epic dorm community. My freshmen wont know what hit them.”
 
As for the independent major? “You know,” he exclaimed, “I actually just figured that out today! At first I wanted to be a bio major- but I realized…man…I hate certain parts of biology, it’s so boring. And then I thought…man…I hate certain parts of geology, it’s so boring. I really am interested in animals and evolution. So I thought:  why don’t I just create an ecology major! Turns out that the bio department is actually creating an ecology concentration for next year. Huge coincidence!” Regardless, though, Matthew’s entrepreneurship is wholly evident. This does not mean that Matthew does not also know how to be a team player. “It is important to recognize when it’s time to step aside and let someone else take the lead.” He spoke at length about his fellow Posse members, and the varied and impressive forms of leadership and engagement that they displayed. “I could never live up to some of the things they have done and the places they have gone.”
 
When I asked Omari why he ranked Colby on his list of preferred schools, Omari told me very simply that when he looked at pictures of the campus, he felt at home. “I knew I could see myself there.” We all have certainly made Mayflower Hill our home-away-from-home. You don’t have to be a celebrity to understand how Omari feels.