Embry Burton, a Bonner Leader at Rollins College, has effectively integrated science, service, and leadership through the Bonner Program, which emphasizes community engagement and social justice. As they pursue a Master of Public Health at Emory University, Embry exemplifies how Bonner's structured approach has shaped their academic and career aspirations in public health and global health.
Berry College, Bonner Alum, Dr. Emily Melchior (16C), has established herself as a prominent figure in animal health research, serving as the Manager of Global Outcomes Research at Zoetis Animal Health. She is recognized for her contributions to ruminant microbiology and nutrition, and she actively supports young professionals through mentorship and her involvement in various organizations.
Davidson College, Bonner Scholar, Hannah Lieberman ’18 wrote, directed and performed Hysterical, a one-woman comedy musical exploring topics of relationships, identity and her family’s history of inherited ovarian cancer. Her hustling brought her to QED, a small arts venue in Astoria, Queens, New York, and, for at least the last decade, the only woman-owned and operated venue in the area.
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.
The 25th Class of Emerson National Hunger Fellows gathered at Rayburn House Office Building on Thursday, February 28, to present their findings from their six months spent working to end hunger with local organizations in communities across the U.S.
Chesterfield Polkey, a 2018 Bonner alum from Macalester College, is a member of this year’s Emerson National Hunger Fellows. He served the first half of his fellowship at Just Harvest, a local community organization in Pittsburgh, PA.
ATLANTA (February 18, 2019) – A Spelman College student is part of an inaugural cohort of fellows in a program that aims to increase minority entrepreneurs from historically Black colleges and universities.
Destinee Filmore, C’2021, is among the 25-member cohort of the Mary Ellen Pleasant Entrepreneur Fellowship program. The MEPE Fellowship, an outgrowth of a partnership between The Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions and minority-owned recruiting marketing platform, The Whether, is part of a $775,000 Innovations in Career Advising grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“These types of learning opportunities contribute to the transformational experiences that shape the lives of Spelman students,” said Darryl Holloman, Ph.D., vice president for student affairs. “Destinee’s selection aligns with Spelman’s efforts to train innovative change agents who, in turn, have a positive impact on the world. We are proud of Destinee for this accomplishment.”
The Streetlight, published by TCNJ students with and for people experiencing homelessness in and around Trenton, won first place in the 2019 NJ News Commons Excellence in Local News competition.
“Community engagement was at the core of Streetlight reporting in 2018, from profiles about local soup kitchens and community organizations to interviews with residents who have experienced homelessness to an investigation into severe weather closings at the Trenton Free Public Library,” according to the Center for Cooperative Media announcement.
“They also held editorial review board meetings, where representatives from local organizations such as the Trenton area soup kitchen and the mercer alliance to end homelessness reviewed our articles and collaborated with their newsroom to suggest future story ideas. One such story focused on a father and son who reunited at the rescue mission of Trenton after 24 years, a story that came from discussions with community partners and local residents.”
If that is going to happen, he said, it is important they prepare themselves for this opportunity and participate in the electoral process. He encouraged students to not only register to vote but then to go to the polls and cast votes that reflect their views.
“Don’t vote my values and don’t vote the way you believe that I think you should vote,” Hargett said. “Vote the way that you believe you should vote based on your values and your principles. And don’t just accept what you see in 280 characters on Twitter or what’s a liked post on Instagram. Do your own research and vote the way you believe you should.”
Hargett was at Tusculum’s Meen Center Thursday, Jan. 24, to recognize the university as one of three winners in the 2018 Tennessee College Voter Registration Competition. He presented an award to Hanna Johnson and (Bonner Leader) Carmyn Tassone, two sophomores who led a voter registration drive in the fall. Joining them for the presentation were state Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, and state Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville, who represent Tusculum in the state Legislature.
Alicia Jiggetts, a 2019 Bonner Scholar at the University of Richmond, was interviewed in this episode of the Compact Nation Podcast, along with Veronica Fernandez-Diaz.
Alicia and Veronica are two Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellows who were visiting the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate in Boston as part of the annual convening of Newman Civic Fellows.
Abigail Bekele, Bonner Scholar Class of 2019, won the Mark of Excellence Award for 2018 in General News Photography for small colleges (< 10,000 enrollment) from the Society of Professional Journalists Region 2 (N.C., Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C.). Her winning photograph entry was titled “Can I have a hug?” and appeared in The Guilfordian accompanying an article on a visit to Guilford College’s campus by Jill and Joe Biden.
Each year the Dan River Nonprofit Network holds a Volunteer of the Year Contest to celebrate those throughout the community that go above and beyond with their engagement in the Dan River Region. For the second year in a row, an Averett University student took home the win.
Taylor Doss, Averett sophomore business major, won the 2017 Volunteer of the Year award, voted on by the public. Doss is an Averett Bonner Leader and a cheerleader for the University.
Emily Horton ’18 said she “cried a little” when she found out that she’d been selected the 2017 Sommerville Scholar. The annual award, given since 1965 in memory of former professor Richard Clarke Sommerville, is the most prestigious academic accolade presented at Lynchburg.
A Bonner Leader, Horton has volunteered with area nonprofits, among them Lynchburg Grows, Lynchburg Daily Bread, and the local humane society. This year, as a senior intern, she’s helping facilitate the program and run meetings.
Five DePauw University students will spend the Fall 2017 semester studying abroad after winning Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships. Three of the five are Bonner Scholars at DePauw.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Virginia Chapter has awarded Christopher Newport University senior Abbey Yoder the 2017 Bachelor’s in Social Work Student of the Year Award. Yoder was recognized for her outstanding academic work, leadership qualities and accomplishments in field work.
Yoder, a Bonner Service Scholar, works with a local refugee resettlement agency to improve the lives of Bhutanese refugees in Newport News.
A political science and Africana studies double major from Terre Haute, Sarah Fears established the Intercultural Conversation Facilitator program in DePauw's Office of Multicultural Student Services. As a Bonner Scholar, she served the Greencastle community by teaching English as a Second Language at Tzouanakis Elementary School and serving as community service soordinator for the school's Student Friend program, which provides mentors to third-through-fifth graders.
Parker Lawson, a 2015 graduate of Centre College, has won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, created in 2000 with a $210 million endowment from Bill and Melinda Gates.
A Spanish and international studies double major from Prospect, Lawson was elected to both Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa, made the dean’s list and was named to honor societies in Spanish and political science. Lawson was also a Bonner Scholar at Centre, which requires a minimum of 10 hours of community service each week.
Stockton University junior Jodie Davis, a Public Health major and Chemistry minor, has earned a fully funded scholarship with United Planet to travel to Ghana for eight weeks this summer to work on global health service projects.
Davis was the only student in the nation to be fully funded in this competitive educational scholarship opportunity, which was made possible through the Bonner Foundation national network and her work as an AmeriCorps Bonner Leader in the university’s Office of Service-Learning.
Hicks, a native of Spartanburg, graduated from Wofford with degrees in government and finance; he is also a Gates Millennium Scholar, a Bonner Scholar and a Truman Scholar. Hicks recently completed a research stay at the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality. An aspiring civil rights attorney, he is a federal analyst at Deloitte.
As a Mitchell Scholar, Hicks will study race, ethnicity and conflict at Trinity College Dublin beginning in September 2017.
We were happy to announce that four Bonners were selected as Newman Own's Foundation Fellows. This is the second year The Bonner Foundation has partnered with Newman's Own to identify strong candidates. These Bonners will be joining eight other fellows from across the nation as part of the Class of 2018 Fellows.
We have featured a brief profile for each Bonner with information on where they will be working and their personal reflection on how their Bonner experience has prepared them for this new venture.
Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has announced the 273 students who will make up the organization’s 2017 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. The Newman Civic Fellowship is a one-year fellowship for community-committed college students from Campus Compact member institutions.
Of the 273 students, the following twelve Bonner Scholar/Leaders received this honor.
On March 15, 2017, the Watson Foundation announced the 49th class of Thomas J. Watson Fellows. The Watson provides a year of unparalleled international exploration for select graduating college seniors in any field. Two of the 40 fellows are Bonner Scholars; Imani Lewis-Norelle, Earlham College, and Tyler Harvey, Rhodes College.
Angel Vela de la Garza Evia ’18, a student at Washington and Lee University, has won a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant that will allow him to conduct a three-phased STEM-related project — STEMito — for primary school students in his home city of Monterrey, Mexico.
“If, through this program, we can motivate the students to continue their academic trajectory and make them realize that they can study STEM, then I am willing to put in all my effort to start making the difference.” - Angel Vela de la Garza Evia
