Alumni Profile

Community Engagement Gives Bonner Scholar Context for Economics Major

Community Engagement Gives Bonner Scholar Context for Economics Major

Economics major and Bonner Scholar Miki Doan, ’14, has been engaged with the community ever since she arrived in Richmond. But her work has also taken her well beyond the city limits, with Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, and the Dominican Republic serving as global classrooms to reflect on her social work interests.

As a sophomore, Doan attended a Givology Spiders meeting where she was introduced to the Circle of Peace School. Givology is an online community and marketplace that connects microfinance donors with smaller educational community initiatives around the world. The University’s chapter focuses on supporting the Ugandan school through finance and awareness.

Bonner Scholar Used Environmental Background in Perugia, Italy to Study Food Marketing and Production

Bonner Scholar Used Environmental Background in Perugia, Italy to Study Food Marketing and Production

April Israel, ’14, knows she wants to help make food production in the United States healthier and more sustainable. This past summer, she decided to start with the fundamentals—the environment. An interdisciplinary studies major, business minor, and Bonner Scholar, Israel reached out to the Maryland Coastal Bays Program for her summer service commitment and received an enthusiastic invitation to come to Ocean City, Md.

Israel explored everything from testing Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) to counting bird eggs and hatchlings on islands where people usually aren’t allowed to visit. She says that her internship was tailored to her interests, but it also provided a good mix of office and field work.

Bonner Scholar Combines Civic Engagement and French Culture for a Summer of Service with Red Cross

Bonner Scholar Combines Civic Engagement and French Culture for a Summer of Service with Red Cross

When Randi Mansell, ’13, left to study abroad at the Catholic University of Lille, France during the spring of her junior year, she immediately began looking for a way to continue her stay through the summer.

As a Bonner Scholar, Mansell had already spent two summers working in community engagement. After her first year at Richmond, she worked for a local homeless shelter in her New Hampshire hometown. The next year, with the help of a Deborah L. Marsh Civic Fellowship, she worked for the Richmond public schools. Continuing this trajectory seemed the perfect opportunity to extend her immersion in France.

Conservation, Geography, and Maps Intersect during an International Development Internship in Peru

Conservation, Geography, and Maps Intersect during an International Development Internship in Peru

Maps. They grace the walls of elementary school classrooms and line the halls of the Vatican. They can be found in art galleries and history museums. They can tell us about lands unknown. And, in reckless hands, can be used by their makers to wield power and control over those who reside within their lines.

That’s the lesson Dillon Massey, ’15, learned as a summer intern with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) at the U.S. embassy in Lima.

Bonner Graduate Putting Leadership and Public Speaking Skills to Work in Cambodia

Bonner Graduate Putting Leadership and Public Speaking Skills to Work in Cambodia

You are headed to Cambodia to volunteer with the Peace Corps. What will you be doing?

I’ll be a community health education volunteer, which entails living with a host family in a rural village somewhere in Cambodia and working in the local community health center. My other main responsibility will be biking to nearby communities to deliver presentations in Khmer, the local language, on healthy living while focusing primarily on maternal health and disease prevention.

Senior to break stereotypes in Argentina after earning regarded Fulbright award

Senior to break stereotypes in Argentina after earning regarded Fulbright award

A recent Fulbright Award will allow Chisama Ku Penn ’16 to bring together all of her interests. Penn will serve as a Fulbright English Language Teaching Assistant at a college for teachers in Argentina for the upcoming academic year, beginning March 2017. The Fulbright program is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program and funds selective teaching and research experiences.

Henri Fitzgerald: Success Inspired by Service

Henri Fitzgerald: Success Inspired by Service

While most of his classmates were adjusting to being away from home, Emory & Henry alumnus Henri Fitzgerald was juggling a college education and raising a family.“I was a parent for most of my time at Emory & Henry, so my family was very important to me,” said Fitzgerald. “I wanted to set a good example, so I tried to excel at everything I tried. This included being a father, husband, athlete, volunteer and good citizen.” 

Finding The Connections: City Year and Bonner Scholar Program

Finding The Connections: City Year and Bonner Scholar Program

Almost six years ago, I sat down to write two short essays for my City Year application, and today I decided to revisit those essays before writing this one. While the lower quality of my writing from six years ago was not unexpected, I was pleasantly surprised that I still fundamentally agree with several key ideas in those essays.