The educational experience of 60 Waynesburg University students once again involved community service projects and the chance to be campus leaders throughout the school year.
They are the school’s Bonner Scholars, a program that provides a chance to earn scholarship funds through community service and leadership.
Waynesburg is one of just 22 colleges in the country that offers the prestigious Bonner Scholars program. Selected students receive financial assistance in return for a commitment to service while enrolled at the school.
“They really are our student leaders on campus,” said Adrienne Tharp, director for the Center for Service Leadership and Bonner Scholars program. “They help us run service projects on weekends. They’re running different initiatives. They’re just super-involved in a lot of different organizations throughout the community.”
Typically, the students participate in service trips. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group has not taken part in such a trip since spring of 2020. However, students stayed on campus or went to a nearby location to perform service duties during spring break.
“They had the opportunity to serve locally in the community, but we also were able to expand some of our resources and work with some of our regional partners,” Tharp said.
Joula Anderson, a sophomore from Greensburg, participated in a clean-up effort at This Generation Connect, a Pittsburgh program started by a Waynesburg Bonner alumnus, and worked at the World Vision Pittsburgh warehouse in Sewickley.
“I think it’s a wonderful program,” she said. “I think we do a lot of great things in the community and for everybody around the university. It’s a lot of fun. It’s brought me a lot of friends. I really enjoy it.”
Jesse Hazlett, a junior from Youngwood, did some maintenance work with the Greene County Historical Society and site restoration and trail upkeep with the Waynesburg Unity Trail.
Some students worked with Greene County Habitat, during which they helped with refurbishing a house in Clarksville. Others were involved with the West Waynesburg Jesus Distributor after-school program.
Having a chance to be a Bonner Scholar attracted Hazlett to Waynesburg.
“Whenever I applied at Waynesburg University, I wasn’t just looking for the run-of-the-mill college experience,” Hazlett said. “I wanted to make the four years that I spent here meaningful. I think the Bonner program was something that gave me that opportunity.”
Fifteen new scholarships are awarded each academic year. Once a student is awarded the scholarship, that student remains in the program all four years at Waynesburg, if they maintain specified requirements. Bonner Scholars complete 140 hours of service each semester, an average of eight to 10 hours a week. Students in the program must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
Tharp said in some years there have been as many as 100 applicants for the coveted 15 spots.
Bonner Scholars receive many benefits, including annual cash awards to offset direct educational experiences, a living stipend while completing two summers of service and additional cash awards to offset educational experiences once summer service requirements are completed.
“It’s made me a much better person,” Anderson said. “It’s opened my eyes to the different community members and different things going on with different people. It opened my eyes and heart to that a little bit.”
“It’s definitely rewarding to not only do direct service where you’re helping people right in front of you but doing a lot of indirect service where you’re not able to measure how many people you’re helping, but you’re hoping it’s an exceptional amount,” Hazlett added.
Tharp agreed that a benefit of being a Bonner Scholar is there’s the good feeling that comes with performing community service, but she sees others.
“I want them when they leave here to ask questions like, ‘Why is this happening in our community? What can we do to fix this?’” she said. “Hopefully these experiences are going to help them in their careers, when they meet different people with different backgrounds. Hopefully, they’ll know how to interact and help them. I really think having these experiences are going to shape their future and also the rest of our futures.”