Staff Profile
Robert Hackett
From the Heart of The Bonner Foundation: Elaine ...

In celebration of Elaine Wheeler's retirement, we honor her invaluable contribution to the Bonner Foundation. Her commitment and mentorship have been instrumental in our growth as a Foundation and the Network we have today. As she embarks on her retirement, we celebrate her legacy of dedication and look forward to the path she has paved for us.

From the Heart of The Bonner Foundation: Elaine Wheeler's Retirement Celebration
Robert Hackett
Announcing the Refreshed Bonner Wiki

With over three decades sharing campus examples, guides, and documents to download, the Bonner Foundation is excited to announce a recently updated Bonner Resources Wiki.

This summer, the five National Bonner Summer Interns at the Foundation — Anu Baskar (George Mason ‘24), Camila Guayasamin (The College of New Jersey ‘24), Dominique Dore (University of Houston ‘22), Mikaela Chin (High Point University ‘24) and Selah Ndouta (Capital University ‘22) — worked with the Foundation staff to refresh the look of the wiki’s homepage and, more importantly, update campus examples and other documents.

They devoted particularly attention to the Bonner Program Management and Community-Engaged Learning sections. In addition, Mikaela and Dominique also created a short video on how to navigate this wealth of knowledge.

Announcing the Refreshed Bonner Wiki

Student Profile

,

Maryville Bonner Makes a Difference Among Special-Needs Adults

,
Maryville Bonner Makes a Difference Among Special-Needs Adults

At first, Elizabeth Dunn wondered how in the world she could fit community service into her college schedule.

Now she wonders how in the world she could have ignored her volunteer spirit.

Dunn, a first-year student at Maryville College, is a Bonner Scholar. In exchange for scholarship dollars, she volunteers at least 40 hours monthly at the Gateway to Independence, a local non-profit agency whose mission is to help young adults with disabilities to achieve independence by providing them with vocational training and social activities.

Dustin Bruner Find His Calling at Centre as a First Generation Graduate

Dustin Bruner Find His Calling at Centre as a First Generation Graduate

When first-generation college graduate Dustin Bruner ’16 started his career at Centre College, he had a concrete idea of where his life was headed. But by the time he received his Centre diploma after graduating in May, his life—and his interests—had changed drastically.

Bruner had every intention of pursuing pre-med studies to become a doctor when he enrolled at Centre. But the variety of classes he took began to change his mind.

,

Maryville Bonner Starts Food Recovery Network Chapter

,
Maryville Bonner Starts Food Recovery Network Chapter

When Maryville College senior Brandon Denney ’16 began volunteering at local service sites, food became his focus.

As a Bonner Scholar, Denney spends 10 hours a week volunteering at local non-profits. Through his volunteer work, he witnessed food waste firsthand at various jobs and volunteer sites.

While volunteering at a local afterschool program, he also noticed that students in the program had access to healthy and nutritious food that many similar programs were unable to provide.

Mamta Gurung Named Public Health Fellow

Mamta Gurung Named Public Health Fellow

Mamta Gurung ’18, who is majoring in accounting, has been named the first Bonner Center Public Health Fellow in recognition of her work, including tutoring, mentoring and educating, members of international and immigrant communities.

The purpose of this new fellowship is to draw attention to significant health issues that can no longer be classed as local or international but must be regarded in an ever-shrinking world as both. Therefore, the Public Health Fellow is charged with exploring mentored, real-world experiences located here in the region and internationally.

Sewanee Bonner is "Opening the Scope of Masculinity" for High Schoolers

Sewanee Bonner is "Opening the Scope of Masculinity" for High Schoolers

For the last two years, Davis and his fellow Sewanee student leaders have gathered groups of boys at Grundy County High twice a week for this program, which they named “Man Up.” Davis is a Bonner Leader, a participant in a service internship and leadership program that sends students into Sewanee and neighboring communities to serve in a variety of ways. Davis and other Bonner Leaders founded the Man Up program in 2014 after talking to another Bonner Leader who had started a regular women’s empowerment luncheon at GCHS and thought the boys in the school could use a program made just for them.

Richmond Student Exemplifies Servant Leadership Through Her Work with Children and Education

Richmond Student Exemplifies Servant Leadership Through Her Work with Children and Education

The Bonner Scholars Program and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies sold Colleen Connolly, '14, on the University of Richmond when she visited campus as a high school student. Now Connolly is combining a double major in leadership studies and political science with her Bonner Scholars service in order to study children in educational settings from many different perspectives. In the process, she has learned not only how to serve, but how to lead.

Richmond Student Works with City Government on Poverty Issues

Richmond Student Works with City Government on Poverty Issues

Kevin Wilson, ’13, embraces political and government service as a means of working for the betterment of society.

During his senior year in high school, the Franklinville, N.J., native served as an advisor to President Barack Obama’s election campaign and as a member of Obama’s transition team. Following his high school graduation, he worked as a summer consultant for the Domestic Policy Council, which oversees the development and implementation of the president’s domestic-policy agenda.

 

Berea Student Launches "Cans for a Cause"

Berea Student Launches "Cans for a Cause"

Never accuse Aaron Hannah of not being ambitious and failing to set high goals for himself.

Later this month, Hannah, a 19-year-old 2012 graduate of Raceland-Worthington High School, will launch what is essentially a one-man food drive. His goal: to collect at least 10,000 pounds of canned food for River Cities Harvest to distribute to local nonprofits and churches that help feed the hungry.

,

Centre Bonner Student Recognized for Outstanding Community Service

,
Centre Bonner Student Recognized for Outstanding Community Service

As a member of Centre College’s Bonner program, Megan Radenhausen ’14 is no stranger to community service; however, she took the College’s culture of service to a new level this past fall semester, logging 1,300 hours at Bluegrass Rape Crisis Center (BRCC), a feat which earned her BRCC’s volunteerism commitment award.

BRCC is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide refuge for victims of sexual assault, to advocate for victims and to educate the community about sexual assault and human trafficking. BRCC provides crisis intervention, therapy, advocacy and education services to 17 counties in the Bluegrass Region. All services offered are free of charge, including a 24-hour hotline.

Summer Student Work: Tracey '15 Explains Men's Work in Combatting Domestic Violence

Summer Student Work: Tracey '15 Explains Men's Work in Combatting Domestic Violence

Cody Tracey ’15 of Baltimore received a 2013 Harward Summer Student Fellowship to work at the Boston-based Jane Doe Inc., a coalition of 60 local member programs working together with allies to find lasting solutions that promote the safety, liberty, and dignity for victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

Internships Benefit United Way, Local Latino Community, and Maryville Students

Internships Benefit United Way, Local Latino Community, and Maryville Students

Maryville College juniors Jose Perez ‘15 and Owen Shelnutt ‘15 completed summer internships at the United Way of Blount County that provided valuable work for the non-profit while providing relevant, real-world experience for the students.

Both Perez and Shelnutt completed the internship as a part of their Bonner Scholarship summer service requirements.

Perez, a psychology major with minors in sociology and Spanish, was able to provide the United Way of Blount County with important information that will help with future outreach efforts for the local Latino community.

During his internship, Perez worked on translating the United Way's needs assessment survey into Spanish, delivering it to many local businesses. He also hosted several community conversations to get a deeper understanding of the aspirations and needs of the Latino population of Blount County.

Voice of America Internship Helps Shape Student's Future in Human Rights Law

Voice of America Internship Helps Shape Student's Future in Human Rights Law


It took exactly two weeks for Voice of America to hook Diane Gremillion. She interned for a short stint just before her first year at Richmond.

Her time at the country’s official external broadcast institution was typically hectic: She helped plan journalist training for coverage of an H1N1 outbreak in Hong Kong. There was famine in Somalia. And she was also asked to interview the second lady, Dr. Jill Biden.

"I immediately wanted to go back to that experience," Gremillion says. "International journalism and human rights fascinated me."

First-Gen

First-Gen

Every summer of her college career, Jocelyne Cardona ’14 (San Jose, Calif.) wondered if this would be the year she couldn’t afford to return to campus. “It was always a struggle to know if I could financially work it out,” she says. Melissa Larson ’14 (Round Lake, Ill.) spent her college summers not traveling in Europe or racking up impressive internships but working as many hours as she could get at the nearby Six Flags amusement park. Jinath Tasnim ’16 (Dallas) regularly declines invitations from classmates to visit their East or West Coast homes. “There’s no way I could justify that expense to my parents,” she says.

Padilla Selected for THEC Service Award

Padilla Selected for THEC Service Award

Stacey Padilla, a 2015 graduate of Maryville College, is among five college students in Tennessee to be named recipient of the 2015 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award sponsored by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).

Named for the late state representative from Nashville who was instrumental in passing legislation for community service recognition programs for higher education in 1991, the award recognizes outstanding community service at the campus level and carries a $1,000 cash prize.

Bonner Scholar Espouses Political Engagement as Key to a Healthy Democratic Society

Bonner Scholar Espouses Political Engagement as Key to a Healthy Democratic Society

Students listened to election returns and debated the pros and cons of Democratic and Republican candidates during the on-campus Super Tuesday viewing party on March 1, 2016. Sporting an “I voted” sticker, Brenden Carol, ’17, moved among them, pleased with the turnout for an event he organized in his role as a student coordinator of politics and elections for the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement (CCE).

“Trump dominated students’ discussion during the viewing party,” Carol said. “None of the students in either political party was happy about his front-runner status.”

Despite the prevailing angst, Carol delighted in seeing students take an interest in politics. He hopes to increase political activism on campus.

,

Bonner Student was Finalist for 2012 Global Citizenship Student Award

,
Bonner Student was Finalist for 2012 Global Citizenship Student Award

Macalester has long been known for its internationalism. One of the ways it recognizes that value is to annually bestow a Global Citizenship Student Award on the graduating senior who best demonstrates a commitment to the ideals and practice of high academic performance, internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement.

Perez Leaves Lasting Impact on Campus Community

Perez Leaves Lasting Impact on Campus Community

Maryville College senior José Perez has transformed from a terrified freshman unsure of his place at Maryville College into a social justice advocate who has made a lasting impact on the MC community.

Perez, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree on May 17, is a first-generation college student and a Mexican-American from an immigrant family.

,

Bonner Student Receives Campus Awards

,
Bonner Student Receives Campus Awards

     Steven Hollingshead, a senior from Memphis, has been named “Student of the Block” for the eighth block at Tusculum College and is also the recipient of the inaugural “Mr. TC Award.”
     Hollingshead, a double major in political science and business with concentrations in economics and international business, was presented both honors prior to the beginning of the May 2 Pioneer baseball game.
     The “Student of the Block Award” is presented by the Tusculum Office of Student Affairs and was established to recognize individuals who excel in their academic endeavors, campus involvement and/or athletic performance. The award is selected from nominations made by faculty and staff members. Plaques telling about the honorees are displayed in the Niswonger Commons and other campus buildings. The new “Mr. TC Award” recognizes a student for overall contributions to the campus community and dedication to the betterment of the college as well as outstanding involvement, service and leadership inside and outside the classroom.

LWC Student Serves as Intern for Forward in the Fifth

LWC Student Serves as Intern for Forward in the Fifth

Krystal Goode, a sophomore at Lindsey Wilson College, spent the summer interning with Forward in the Fifth at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset, KY.

An elementary education major with the goal of teaching in a kindergarten classroom, Goode spent nearly three months with the non-profit education organization working on several initiatives designed to improve teaching and learning.

Lynchburg Student to Complete Summer Research in Human Emotions

Lynchburg Student to Complete Summer Research in Human Emotions

     Emily Horton plans to spend part of her summer working on research about human emotions thanks to a competitive Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
     Emily will spend about two months at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where scientists are studying emotion using data recorded about the facial expressions research subjects made while watching films.