Maranda C. Ward, Ed.D., MPH, Spelman College Bonner Scholar ‘02 Alum has been awarded Campus Compact’s Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement. Dr. Ward is the assistant professor and director of the Equity Department of Clinical Research and Leadership at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
TCNJ’s Bonner Community Scholars Program launched 20 years ago, it started with just 12 Bonner Scholars — students who commit to 300 hours of community service annually in exchange for needs-based scholarships. Now, with close to 100 participants each year, the TCNJ program is one of the largest and most successful in a nationwide network of Bonner college programs.
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.
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.
Luis Cordero ‘22 with two other Davidson College students Ellie Lipp ‘22 and Chichi Odd ‘22 are among the 54th Class of Thomas J. Watson Fellows. Their research will examine how countries around the world treat the challenges of aging and elder care, perceptions of disability and the mental health of athletes.
Growing up in Watertown, South Dakota, Sydney Walker always had a keen interest in education – largely because her parents are both teachers. She came to the College of Saint Benedict, where her mom, Tricia (Koob) Walker, was a 1993 graduate, and started out on the same career path. But going to CSB and Saint John’s University quickly broadened Sydney’s worldview.
“I’ve always had a passion for learning – I think my parents have instilled that in me since I was little,” said Walker, who is finishing her junior year as a political science major. “I knew I could create an inclusive classroom myself, but it is hard for a single-classroom teacher to have a broader impact on the education system. Over time, I realized my influence could be broader from a public policy level.”
Very soon she will have opportunity to develop that influence as the latest on a short list of Saint Ben’s Truman Scholars, and having accepted a summer internship with the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
Renee Sang ’21 may be a local, but her Rollins experience took her well beyond the boundaries of Central Florida in her quest to illuminate social justice issues through documentary filmmaking. . .
Her first year at Rollins, Sang joined the Bonner Leaders—a four-year, cohort-based community service scholarship program—and that single decision set her on a path that would form the basis of her work for the next four years.
Roman Rojas ‘21 says he found a second home on the Hill. As the Mars Hill University’s first DACA student, he faced some unique challenges, but persevered and fulfilled his dream of earning a college degree, graduating in May with a business administration major and a certificate in community engagement. Through his experiences as a Bonner Scholar, an Alpha Chi member, and a DKT brother, he found numerous opportunities to move mountains through Mars Hill University.
The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who are changemakers and public problem-solvers at Campus Compact member institutions. Fellows are nominated by their president or chancellor on the basis of their potential for public leadership.
Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides students with training and resources that nurture their assets and passions and help them develop strategies for social change. The yearlong program, named for Campus Compact founder Frank Newman, includes virtual learning opportunities and networking as part of a national network of engaged student leaders and an optional in-person convening.
Campus Compact views the Newman Civic Fellowship as a core component of our strategy to build a national network of engaged student leaders who can support one another in building transformational partnerships between campuses and communities.
Below we have included the personal statement from each of the nine Bonners who are part of the 2022-23 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows.
Bonner Scholar Ben James ’22 had plans to play soccer for a college in his home state of Pennsylvania when he realized he needed to make a bigger change.
“There was a lot of transformation going on, but by the time I made all of these decisions, it was the spring of my senior year, and the recruiting is all but closed by that time,” he says. “During a tournament in February of 2018, the assistant coach from Guilford contacted me and said they were still looking to fill the recruiting class, so I applied.”
Ben didn’t have a chance to visit Guilford before making the decision, but the opportunity to play soccer, as well as the financial aid that went along with being a Bonner Scholar, made it an easy choice.
Kaytlin Brown, CAUL Intern, shares her thoughts about the Urban League:
I am a junior at the College of Charleston pursuing a Bachelor's of Science in Public Health and double minoring in Communication and Political Science, on the Pre-Law track. My interests lie within the intersections of interface communication and advocacy.
My goal is to utilize my experience in such a field to evoke change for minorities in the realms of public policy, public health, and business operations.
Congratulations to the Guilford College’s graduating Bonners - Hsar “Ree Ree” Wei, Moe Reh, and Exel Valle-Estrada! Their time at Guilford has been marked with change and challenge, but their perseverance shines through in their success. Below, get to know the recent graduates and find out how they're planning to go out into the world.
Ijjae Hill is driven to help others and inspire those around her to do the same.
Before the pandemic, the Widener sophomore had been researching health inequities and disparities in Chester. When COVID-19 hit, and those issues became even more pronounced, she was compelled to take action.
Hill reached out to the university’s Center for Civic and Global Engagement (CCGE) with ideas.
Fast forward a few months, and her drive has led to Widener securing a grant to fund COVID-19 tests for uninsured Chester residents; to support research to gain a clearer picture of health access, resources, and gaps in the city; and to host an educational panel to discuss the issues.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, after Brin Robinson’s morning class wraps up, she walks across the Cass Street bridge to the Glazer Children’s Museum.
With a cup of coffee in hand, Robinson ’24 starts working on her tasks for the day as a marketing intern at the museum: whether it’s inputting data to target future goals for the museum, working on marketing content to showcase exhibits or assisting fellow museum team members. Each day looks a little different, but Robinson always spends the final 20 minutes of her shift hanging out with kids who are visiting the museum or talking to parents about their experience.
While Robinson spends only a few hours of her time each week at her internship, the experience has been invaluable.
“I have gained an incredible amount of experience since I started working at Glazer,” said Robinson, of McHenry, IL. “Being in a professional environment surrounded by highly educated, passionate and helpful colleagues has helped me grow both personally and professionally.”
Robinson, an international business/marketing major, is part of the Bonner Leader Program, which provides University of Tampa students with an opportunity to serve the community while gaining valuable work experience. Students in the program are placed at local nonprofit organizations at the start of their first year at UT and work for the organization nine hours a week for the entirety of their college career. Students in the program earn paid wages from UT’s work-study funding, as well as an annual $2,000 scholarship.
Morehouse Bonner Scholar, Julien Serrano-O’Neil ‘21, was selected to serve as a panelist on his hometown news station, News 6 WKMG. The graduating senior represented the United Foundation of Central Florida (UFCF) and the Bonner Office of Community Service at Morehouse College and was joined by other central Florida pioneers for the Black History Month Initiative - Real Talk Town Hall Series, an effort to tackle race issues.
Underprivileged. Low-income. Uneducated. These are words that I heard daily by those who didn't know my plight. I came from a home environment where my parents always encouraged me to reach higher, no matter what my skin looks like, no matter what my religion is, and no matter what my socio-economic status is. Since I was in sixth grade, I knew I wanted to attend a university because education is the key to success. Fortunately, when I learned about Michelle Obama’s Beating the Odds Summit, I was excited, curious, and thankful. I was grateful that someone who looks like me believes that all youth deserve to and should aspire to dream big in life. The summit was an opportunity that should be offered to all teenagers. Mrs. Obama encouraged us to not only grow intellectually, but to grow as human beings by enhancing our networks, reaching out to resources, and discovering our passions. I remember thinking as I left, “It’s not about your major, your extracurriculars, or about where you come from—it's about who you are as a human being and what you are capable of doing.” I left with a mindset of openness and readiness to take on the challenge of college.
Leading a community relief program for small businesses devastated by a crippling pandemic was not in Natasha Main’s job description. She had plenty on her plate since becoming executive director late last year of Exponential Impact, a Colorado Springs-based, nonprofit incubator/accelerator for tech startups.
But she’s more than stepped up to the challenge, says Exponential Impact co-founder and chairman Vance Brown, who developed the Survive & Thrive relief program, which is being administered by XI. In fact, he says, “she’s crushing it.”
Dr. Elvis Francois, Oberlin Bonner Scholar Class of 2008 and surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, has gone viral during the coronavirus pandemic singing such hopeful anthems as “Imagine.”
Article on NBC News Today Show
Click here to watch more video news stories below.
As part of Centre College’s Centre-in-Washington program, politics major, international studies minor and Bonner Scholar Stephanie Akoto Bamfo ‘21 (Lexington, Kentucky) is working for the Capitol Hill Consulting Group as a legislative intern.
Based in Washington, D.C., Capitol Hill Consulting Group is a bi-partisan government relations firm dedicated to providing comprehensive and individually tailored strategies to meet the diverse needs of their clients. They offer specialized lobbying services in tax, trade, financial services, appropriations, environment, energy, health care and aerospace, among other sectors.
“I was invested in earning this internship due to the nature of work that is done in this firm and the diverse clientele list,” Akoto Bamfo said. “I’ve been afforded the opportunity to work with clients from across the world and be the middle-man between them and members of Congress. It’s insightful to see the coordination between the private and public sectors in maintaining the interest of the American taxpayer.”
Before becoming an attorney in Washington D.C., 2019 W&L Law grad Diane Gremillion was a Bonner Scholar at the University of Richmond with a major in Leadership Studies.
“Bonner…made me question why different forms of poverty and inequality existed in my community,” Gremillion said.
““The regulatory backbone of each problem made me appreciate the power of the law to have very real impacts, often disproportionately on vulnerable persons,””
Gremillion’s community service in Richmond sparked the realization that the lives of the people in need were directly affected by government structure and minutiae, “even the least interesting parts of the law and its various regulatory regimes.”
As an attorney at Venable, LLP, Gremillion is working in the regulatory/administrative law realm. Her summer internship with the firm as a law student confirmed that Venable was well-placed to make a difference.
“[During the summer] I worked on a pro bono case, defending an immigrant family after nearby construction flooded their home, which culminated in mediation at the Venable office building,” Gremillion said. “Being with a large firm allowed us to defend the family with first-rate legal representation against multiple large corporations in ways that we would not have been able to otherwise.”
Gremillion’s experience as a Bonner Scholar still informs her personal life and her career as an attorney.
“Bonner instilled in me an appreciation for what is gained personally by helping one’s community. I gained so much more than I ever could give from those experiences. I’m also now aware that, even when I’m not working day to day and seeing poverty in my community, it is there. With my JD, I access the law and advocate in a way that is inaccessible to so many.”
If you are interested in pursuing a law degree, contact the Office of Admissions at W&L Law to learn more. We are proud of our new partnership with the Bonner Foundation, and we look forward to seeing more Bonner alumni in the law school student body.
Washington and Lee Law Admissions
(540)458-8503
W&L Law School’s coverage of the partnership found here.
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — Unstable. That's one way to describe the first years of Melissa Lopez's life. Born in Troy, Michigan, to Mexican immigrants, Lopez was barely old enough to remember the day her father was deported, but she does. It was her mother's birthday. Fearing further family separation, the family moved several times seeking refuge and a reliable income.
To hear her describe that part of her life now seems a contradiction to the stable environment she's found at Slippery Rock University. She's not one to complain. In fact, Lopez looks at her past more as a guide to help others rather something that happened to her.
"It's not that I feel like I have a greater appreciation (for what I have now); it's just easier for me to understand what others are going through," said Lopez, a freshman exercise science major from Pittsburgh. "I'm interested in helping people. Some people want to help others but they can't relate to them or know what they've been through. I feel my perspective is different."
Lopez has the opportunity to help others as one of five freshmen in the Bonner Leader Program at SRU. Bonner students receive a scholarship and are paid to lead a community-service partnership for the University.
Like many college students, 2015 graduate Amanda Petersen Barney came to Berry with a plan. She entered as a communication major with the intent of becoming a journalist, but after taking several political science and government classes she discovered a real interest in the law. Now, Amanda works as an associate attorney with Becker & House, PLLC in Scottsdale, Arizona.
At Berry Amanda threw herself into intense study, majoring in political science and minoring in communication all while participating in the esteemed Honors Program. Her Honors thesis focused on the political empowerment of women in Rwanda, Nepal and Nigeria and was instrumental in helping her to acquire a portion of her scholarship to law school.
But she didn’t limit herself to hitting the books. An accomplished equestrian, she helped lead the team to a national victory just before she graduated. She was also a Bonner Program scholar, spending much of her free time working in several community-oriented organizations in Rome.
