Last month, Toast opened its doors to Posse Boston for a Dynamic Assessment Process (DAP) — the signature evaluation Posse uses to identify talented, diverse young leaders who traditional admissions criteria often overlook. 80+ high school student nominees came through group and individual interviews, observed by trained volunteers and partner-college staff, as Posse selected this year's Posse of 10 Scholars per institution.

The Posse Foundation is a national college access and leadership development organization that sends high school seniors to partner colleges in "Posses" of ten, backed by full-tuition leadership scholarships to some of the nation’s top colleges and universities. Its support doesn't stop at admission — Scholars get an eight-month pre-collegiate training program, four years of campus mentoring, and a Career Program connecting them to internships, fellowships, and full-time roles through a network of 250+ corporate Career Partners.

For Toast, hosting DAP Day for the past four years is more than a volunteer event. It's part of our investment in Boston's own community, since Posse Scholars come from high schools across the greater Boston area. Two Toasters from this event, Taylor and David, even came up through Posse themselves. Their stories are the best evidence for why this partnership matters.

"You don't have to be the loudest in the room to succeed."

Taylor went through the Posse process at 17. Naturally reserved, he found something in it he wasn't expecting: proof that quiet, steady support can carry you just as far as confidence can. Now in his fourth year returning to sponsor DAP through Toast, he's continuing to show the next group of nominees what he wishes someone had shown him.

"I know what it's like to process things quietly in those rooms," he said, "and coming back as an alumnus and sponsor lets me show them that you don't have to be the loudest in the room to succeed. You just need a strong support system backing you up."

David, a software engineer at Toast, feels the same pull. "Posse has done so much for me that I would not be myself if I did not come back," he said. The network, the career opportunities, the friendships that have stuck around long after graduation. Now he gets to sit on the other side of the table and recognize in a nominee what someone once recognized in him.

When the journey comes full circle

Taylor and David didn't just go through Posse separately and end up at the same company by coincidence. They found each other years before David ever worked at Toast.

Taylor met David at a Posse career fair in Boston, back when he was a freshman still figuring out what a career in software engineering could even look like. "I was working at a restaurant for three years before that conference," David said, "and when I met Taylor and saw Toast, it was almost a no-brainer." David stayed in touch. He gave updates as his path took shape. By his junior year, he was ready to apply for a software engineering internship at Toast. He got it. Then he got the full-time offer.

"My journey with David is a living testament to why early career partnerships matter," Taylor said. "That single connection evolved into a full-time role upon his graduation. It proves support and mentorship isn't a one-off conversation. It's about relationship building over time."

That's the case for showing up to DAP Day year after year, and it's the case for skills-based volunteering more broadly. Posse offers year-round ways to stay involved with Scholars beyond a single afternoon of interviews, including Career Coach, Resume Coach, and Writing Coach roles. The relationships that start there don't always lead somewhere specific. Sometimes they lead to a full-time hire four years later.

What traditional interviews miss

Both Taylor and David pointed to the same thing when asked what makes DAP different from a normal application process: it captures who someone is, not just what they've achieved on paper.

"Traditional university applications reduce human beings to standardized test scores, GPAs, and 500 words that tell your life story," Taylor said. "Posse creates space for collaboration, active listening, problem solving, and leadership. It captures who you are in action."

David's own DAP happened during COVID, which meant a version of the process that looked a little different from the norm. Even so, he said, "uncertain times breed the toughest candidates." The activities and hot-topic discussions gave students a way to show what they could do beyond a transcript. "A normal application does not have a face behind those words," he said, "and DAP allowed personalities from all over to really showcase who they are."

The ROI that often gets undervalued

Both alumni had the same message for any company weighing whether a partnership like this is worth the investment: don't think about it as filling a role.

"Never underestimate the long-term ROI of investing in early talent," Taylor said. "You aren't filling open roles, you're gaining access to resilient, highly capable leaders who bring unique perspectives."

David put it more simply: "You are getting scholars that are natural born leaders, with many unique perspectives that can foster an inclusive and safe environment."

Toast's DAP Day was one afternoon. Taylor and David's story took years to build. Both are proof of what showing up, again and again, can turn into.