Edited by Lance Charles Sun (MPNY9)

Posse scholars, regardless of where they come from (whether it is New York City, Boston, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles or New Orleans) are all chosen for their commitment and dedications to their community back home. So it should come as no surprise that Posse Scholars and the Middlebury Community Council have developed a long and faithful history together. Inspired by Dean Collado’s post this week, Walking the Walk, we decided to speak with two Middlebury Posse alumni on their experiences serving on the Community Council.

I loved my time on Community Council because it was a diverse group of people who all had the interests of making Middlebury as good as it could be. Since Community Council is made up of students, faculty and staff, the discussions were always full of a wide array of perspectives and opinions. As SCCOCC, I felt I was able to advocate on behalf of students through weekly dialogues about important issues that face our campus. Our Community Council meetings were always open to everyone, so if someone had a stake in that meeting’s agenda, they were welcome to join the conversation. It was an incredibly unique opportunity, working with Dean Jordan, to personally hear the current issues that mattered to the Middlebury community. What made my experience even better was [knowing that I was] able to pass on the torch to someone who was more than qualified. I was lucky to be succeed by a fellow Posse scholar [whom I worked with closely on the Community Council for years]. I found solace in knowing that the student voice would always be heard at Middlebury as long as student leaders,  [regardless if they were Posse scholars or not,] were represented on Community Council.
Antoinette Rangel (MPNY7)

Antoinette served as the Student Co-Chair of Community Council from 2008-2009 along side Dean Gus Jordan.

Community Council is the most diverse organization on the Middlebury campus because it is composed of students of all years, faculty from various disciplines, staff from different departments and the Dean of the College. In essence it reflects the composition of the Middlebury community at large. We have been extremely fortunate that the SCCOCC position have passed from one Posse scholar to another for three years now. Without Antoinette (the SCCOCC before me), I would not have been as aware to the inner-workings of student life at Middlebury. Whether it is the social houses, student groups or simply creating a communal responsibility and neighborhood for all on Middlebury’s campus, I had learned from the best mentor.
Raymond Queliz (MPNY9)

Raymond served at the Student Co-Chair of Community Council from 2010-2011 with Dean Shirley Collado.

Janet Rodrigues (MPNY10) currently serves as the Student Co-Chair of Community Council for the 2011-2012 school year alongside Dean Collado.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, we encourage you to head on over to Dean Collado‘s blog, One Dean’s View.