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

Alumni

Spelman Bonner Alum, Destinee Filmore Named as The Met’s Assistant Curator

Spelman Bonner Alum, Destinee Filmore Named as The Met’s Assistant Curator

Spelman college Bonner Alum, Destinee Filmore is a curator, art historian, and writer dedicated to telling a more complex history of American art that centers women and historically marginalized makers. She has published and presented research on an assortment of artists and topics, including the work of Alvin D. Loving, Nellie Mae Rowe, and Mildred Thompson; and she continues to explore research topics ranging from vernacular African American artistic traditions, the reception history of identity-based exhibitions, and the visual and material culture of Afro-Cosmopolitanism in the early 20th century. As a Mellon Curatorial Fellow at the Williams College Museum of Art, she led efforts to define and expand the museum’s ethical collecting practices, and curated exhibitions and permanent collection rotations.

Davidson Bonner Serves in Dominican Republic

Davidson Bonner Serves in Dominican Republic

The Princeton in Latin American Fellowship connects recent college graduates with one-year, service-oriented positions at nonprofit and community-based service organizations in Latin America. The fellowship is designed to promote education, leadership, and engagement within communities all throughout Latin America. Elizabeth Prosser, a current Princeton in Latin America Fellow based in the Dominican Republic, shared her experience in the program and gives some application tips.

Elizabeth Prosser recently graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in Hispanic Studies with a minor in Francophone Studies.  Over the course of her college career, she held multiple internships and service positions aligning with her passions for education reform, nonprofit work, Spanish, and international relations. She now explores her love for these subjects through a Princeton in Latin America Fellowship, working as the Operations and Development Fellow at Yspaniola, an education-based nonprofit in the Dominican Republic. Afterwards, she will pursue a Master’s in Latin American Studies at Stanford University in order to gain a more holistic understanding of Latin America and its history, culture, and challenges.

Read full story here.

30 Bonner Alumni Career Profiles

Since 1990, the Bonner Program has engaged more than 15,000 students as Bonner Scholars and Leaders across more than 65 colleges and universities in the United States. As reinforced by evidence from the Bonner Alumni Survey and Bonner Student Impact Survey, being a Bonner has a deep, lasting impact on graduates in many ways.

The Bonner experience shapes students' majors and academic interests, career and personal aspirations, leadership abilities and skills. Additionally, program participation often help graduates develop tools to succeed after college, including a sense of equanimity and well-being.

Bonner graduates continue to stay civically engaged after college, through their vocational choices, and through expression of personal values and commitments.In the summer of 2018, the National Bonner Interns and Foundation staff embarked on a project to capture the stories and perspectives of Bonner Alumni. Thirty alumni participated in interviews with the interns, sharing stories which were then used to develop new Alumni Profiles (which highlight key parts of their journeys during and since college) and Job Profiles (which describe the work they do now in many sectors to continue to contribute to positive social change). 

We invite you to watch and listen, then peruse the thirty profiles on this site. Special thanks to Aleah Qureshi, Alexander Nichols, Ashlee Renich-Malek, Kai Mangino, and Taylor Clarke for their work to develop these profiles, as well as to Samantha Ha and Ariane Hoy in guiding this process. Extra special thanks to Jasmine Rangel for her creative vision and expertise in making this video!After watching the video, be sure to visit and read the Alumni Profiles!

Bonner Alum begins Peace Corps service in Costa Rica

Bonner Alum begins Peace Corps service in Costa Rica

Theresa Kedinger, 29, of Fond du Lac, has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Costa Rica on Feb. 20 to begin training as a community economic development volunteer.

Kedinger will work at the community level to build one-on-one relationships with women, youth and potential entrepreneurs. She will advise business, marketing, financial management and product design plans, in addition to teaching literacy programs and facilitating business workshops.

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.” 

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Finding The Connections: City Year and Bonner Scholar Program

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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.