Posse Scholar Jalen Smiley ’27 Fosters Connections Among OEI Scholars and Campus Community

Jalen Smiley ’27 cofounded and coheads The Community Project (TCP), a Bard student club where Posse Scholars from Atlanta and Puerto Rico can engage in activities—including Posse potlucks, art shows, and healing circles—that highlight their own identities and celebrate them culturally and socially. Although the social club began as a Posse-centered space, it has since expanded to serve all scholarship program students from Bard’s Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI), as well as the whole campus community. TCP raises awareness of the Posse program and encourages the larger Bard community to participate in on-campus programming, such as the annual PossePlus Retreat. This year, the retreat had more than 25 additional attendees—known as “Plussers”—compared to last year. 

“Being called on to lead in this way makes me feel like I am making a change for not only current and future Posse Scholars but also people of color on campus who need a space to be around people who look like them,” Jalen said.

Post Date: 05-13-2025