Members of the Carleton College Houston posse matriculated at Carleton in fall 2014. (Photo courtesy of the Posse Foundation)
Unbeknownst to him, Gladden had been nominated to the Posse Foundation, which would place him with a school and help provide him with tuition money. Successfully moving through four rounds of interviews, Gladden is now set to attend the University of Wisconsin next fall.
Once he was nominated to attend the University of Wisconsin as a Posse Scholar, Gladden still had to apply and be admitted. The process was not without its stresses, but was “totally worth it,” he says.
“When I found out I was nominated for the school, I’m one of those people who immediately goes on the website, looks at the YouTube videos, so I was kind of set on going there,” he says. “So when I did get selected, I was shocked. I almost threw my phone when they called me and told me that I made it because I was so excited.”
Gladden says he plans to study journalism or communications — and that he is even looking forward to outfitting himself with the obligatory heavy coats and boots for Wisconsin’s sub-zero winter days.
Even though the college application process itself is a daunting prospect for many high school seniors, Gladden says he had a feeling of being “right at home” with Posse from the start of the selection process in September.
“They really just made me feel like I was at home, like I could really talk to somebody and get feedback on certain things,” Gladden says of the people he met during the process. “It really felt like I was talking to somebody who was in my family, or one of my best friends.”
