Five Centre College Bonner students completed Summer of Service internships at different non-profit organizations around Danville, Kentucky.
Aidan Isaac ’24 (Lexington, Kentucky) interned with the Boyle County Farmers’ Market; Jonathan Gambrel ’22 (London, Kentucky) worked with Clark’s Run Environmental Education Corp. (CREEC); Lyric Hyde ’23 (Campbellsville, Kentucky) was a CentreWorks intern on campus; Cynthia Nieto ‘23 (Phoenix Arizona) worked with Shepherds House; and Melissa Perello ’23 (Louisville, Kentucky) worked at Blue Bird Market.
The Bonner Summer of Service is an intentional summer internship with a non-profit organization, school or government agency that helps the student learn more about the community they are serving.
Sophia Lombardo, coordinator of civic & community engagement and the Bonner Program, said Bonner students bring their experience of doing 10 hours of service a week during the school year to these organizations in the summer and work for at least 200 hours to make a difference in the world.
In addition, Centre’s Bonner Program provides a living and earning stipend for these students for a total of $2,500 for their summer work. The students also complete professional development homework assignments and meet with the Bonner coordinator and director throughout the summer.
Aidan Isaac ’24
While working with the Boyle County Farmers’ Market, operated by the Danville Chamber of Commerce, Isaac also got an inside look as to how a small-town economy works.
“In my opinion, the best part of the farmers’ market is that we doubled the money that people on programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) use so they can buy double the amount of food while the farmers get compensated for it,” Isaac said. “It’s a system that works well for everybody and helps the community a lot.”
During the markets, Isaac worked at the booth that gives out the vouchers for SNAP and WIC. He would also give out sheets for the farmers to log the profits they make and the vouchers they received. In addition, he would help with set-up and assist customers who need help finding anything.
“I’ve learned a lot about the logistics that go into running non-profits like farmers’ markets,” he added.
Cynthia Nieto ‘23
Danville’s Shepherds House works to help recovering drug and alcohol addicts to live a successful and happy sober life. Throughout the summer, Nieto designed and facilitated community service projects for the clients. She also helped with other projects, including the annual Run for Recovery and Narcan distribution event.
“I wanted to do this internship because I wanted to work more closely with the Danville/Boyle county community,” Nieto said. “I specifically wanted to work with the people at Shepherds House and build community connections.”
Jonathan Gambrel ’22
When COVID-19 kept Gambrel off campus for last year, he wanted to come back and spend his summer in Danville.
“I missed the town and my friends,” he said. “I desired to do a Summer of Service with CREEC because, at heart, I care about the environment and conservation efforts. This site offered me the ability to spend time doing something I enjoy doing and care about.”
At CREEC, their mission statement is to restore, protect and celebrate the historic waterway of Clark’s Run in Boyle County. Gambrel’s role this summer has fallen under the restoring and protecting Clark’s Run umbrella of the mission.
“Essentially, I worked to remove invasive species, such as bush honeysuckle or wintercreeper, in order to then have an area on which to restore native species in the riparian zone between the walking trails and the creek,” Gambrel explained.
By observing his advisor, Gambrel also learned about the water monitoring system and other things CREEC does.
“I have learned about invasive species removal and herbicide use,” he concluded. “I learned about monitoring a water system and how a lab is directly involved in that management.”
by Kerry Steinhofer
August 24, 2021
Header image: Melissa Perello ’23 (right) participates in a Bonner Summer of Service internship at the Blue Bird Market in Danville, Kentucky.