Hailing from Red Hook, New York, Gifford was passionate about continuing her service journey into college. Leading her to choose Siena College, after being selected into their Bonner Leader Program. Gifford values authentically building relationships and making a difference, and felt the Bonner Program was a perfect place to do both.
And she was right.
The Siena Bonner Program provided her opportunities to delve deep into learning about societal injustices, leading Gifford to declare a sociology major.
In particular, Gifford became passionate about access to education, influencing her decision to choose higher education administration as a career pathway.
Gifford said: “I specifically want to learn more about how mentorship and policies can be put in place to make college and a sense of belonging accessible to all.”
Some of Gifford’s influential Bonner experiences included co-leading Siena’s annual Bonner First-Year Trip to West Virginia where she mentored and advocated for the younger students in the program. She also served as a Program Associate for leadership development, providing experiences she feels helped prepare her for a future career in higher education.
“I want to be a connector for students and I want to help them identify skills and assets that they have within themselves that they don’t always recognize. Overall, my Bonner experiences helped me become comfortable within my own skin and develop the confidence to go on to my next adventure – Vanderbilt!”
Gifford is the recipient of a Bonner Scholarship from Vanderbilt Peabody School of Education to support her graduate studies starting in the fall. This scholarship was made possible through the Bonner Foundation’s Graduate School Partnerships. These partnerships with over 30 programs ranging from public policy, architecture, environmental affairs, business, international studies, law, philanthropy, nonprofit studies, public health, to divinity – provide Bonner students and alumni access to tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships and application fee waivers. To learn more about the Vanderbilt Peabody Bonner Foundation Award, visit Special Awards on Peabody’s Funding Your Education.
Gifford graduates from Siena this spring but plans to take the lessons learned from her Bonner experiences into graduate school.
“Specifically, the lessons I learned from working with The Food Pantries for The Capital District in that it is important to ask communities what they need, come in with optimism, and to recognize assets instead of deficit-minded thinking.”
Gifford shares that she’s thankful for the amazing experiences the Bonner Program has provided her.
“There are so many opportunities open to people through the Bonner Network. I never thought that I would be able to get a scholarship through the network and I think it just goes to show how many amazing opportunities there are for students!”