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VILLANOVA, Pa. (March 14, 2024) – ²ÝÁñÉçÇø sophomore Jene Baquet ’26 VSB has been selected by to participate in its highly selective Washington Program, a two-summer opportunity that supports some of the best and brightest African American male college students in the country. Baquet will be one of twelve students as part of the cohort for the Class of 2025 and is the third ²ÝÁñÉçÇøn to be selected to participate in this competitive program.

A Posse scholarship recipient from New Orleans, Baquet is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration from the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø School of Business. Baquet is an active member of his local community, where he spent Sundays preparing 5,000 bags of goods, including at the holidays, to feed over 1,000 families in the New Orleans area. In addition to his hard work in the classroom, he also plays for ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’s club basketball team and serves as a manager for the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø women's basketball team. In the future, Baquet aspires to become an NBA General Manager.

"This prestigious opportunity to participate in The Washington Program not only reflects Jene’s academic excellence but also speaks volumes about his potential to excel in real-world settings—now and into the future," said Wen Mao, PhD, the Helen and William O'Toole Dean of the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø School of Business. "I am confident that Jene’s experience will enrich his academic journey and empower him to make meaningful contributions to ²ÝÁñÉçÇø and beyond."

The Washington Program offers a unique opportunity for some of America's most talented and ambitious African American male college students. During the program, scholars live together in a university residence hall and work at high-level internships in their fields of interest. They participate in a challenging seminar on economic and constitutional principles, engage in private meetings with prominent leaders from both the public and private sectors, attend personal and professional development workshops, and enjoy a variety of social activities. The Institute’s 270+ alumni have garnered prestigious accolades, including Rhodes Scholarships, Truman Scholarships and Schwarzman Scholarships—amongst numerous others—and are employed in an array of fields including academia, medicine, law, business and more.

About ²ÝÁñÉçÇø: Since 1842, ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, ²ÝÁñÉçÇø supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit .