Olivia Norten (left), Gabe Miller (center), and Danielle Savellano (right) attending graduate school expo in Washington, D.C. as part of PPIA Junior Summer Fellowship at Heinz College
This summer, three Bonner Scholars, Gabe Miller, class of 2025 at Washington & Lee University, Olivia Norten, class of 2025 at Davidson College, and Danielle Savellano, class of 2024 at Allegheny College, were recipients of the selective Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. The PPIA Junior Summer Institute is a national fellowship program that prepares students for an advanced degree and ultimately for careers and influential roles serving the public good. The PPIA-JSI is a rigorous seven-week training offered each summer for rising college seniors, with coursework focused on quantitative, analytical, and communication skills.
This year, out of an application pool of almost 1,500, only 149 students were admitted to the program across a variety of campuses at elite public policy schools across the country. PPIA Fellows receive a stipend to assist with summer travel, food, and other expenses to facilitate their participation in the Junior Summer Institute.
Miller, Norten, and Savellano attended the PPIA-JSI at Heinz College and took core coursework that reflects the multidisciplinary approach and quantitative focus for which Heinz College has become known. They participated in courses including Applied Statistics for Public Policy, Applied Economics for Public Policy, Understanding Systems of Oppression, and Poverty & Social Policy. Additional components of the program included leadership development, site visits, and guest speakers.
All three students credit the Bonner Program in equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and experience to tackle important issues of inequity and injustice, prepare them for successful participation in the PPIA program, and use public policy as an avenue to make social change. Here is what they said:
Olivia Norten, Bonner Scholar, Class of 2025 at Davidson College
“Bonner transformed the way I interact with my community and understand complex systems of disenfranchisement in this country. Because my peers and mentors at Davidson encourage me to take risks and step up as a leader, my approach in the classroom is now directly informed by my commitment to public service. I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in nonprofit and public management after a wonderful experience with community service clubs in high school, but I had very little idea of how to turn my passion into change. Collegiate programs like Bonner and PPIA are providing me with the functional skills I will need to build capacity in a sustainable way when I enter the workforce. They create this genuine feeling of self-empowerment that is difficult to come by. There is nothing else I could see myself doing - this work is a core part of who I am.”
Gabe Miller, Bonner Scholar, class of 2025 at Washington & Lee University
“My service as a Bonner Scholar at Washington and Lee was a key component of my application to the PPIA Fellowship program. Beyond that, my Bonner experience is greatly contributing to my success at PPIA's Junior Summer Institute at Heinz College by allowing me to connect my PPIA research in Criminal Justice to my Bonner service at a driver's license clinic with a focus on reentry. Bonner inspired me to pursue a career in public policy and law, and PPIA has helped me broaden my horizons within that career space in ways I previously thought were unimaginable.”
Olivia Norten (left), Gabe Miller (center), and Danielle Savellano (right) representing their respective Bonner Programs (Davidson, W&L, and Allegheny)
Danielle Savellano, Bonner Scholar, class of 2024 at Allegheny College
“Bonner was my community in college and the source of many of my friends and mentors. During my time in the program, I had the opportunity to attend events such as the 2023 Bonner Summer Leadership Institute and 2023 Bonner Congress. These events often included strategic partner fairs where we were presented with graduate school, fellowship, and career opportunities. One presentation that left a lasting impression on me was from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College, where they talked about the MS Health Care Analytics program and the Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute.
Through the Bonner program and the Allegheny College Center for Career and Professional Development, I received full funding to pursue a community development and education-based internship in the Philippines during my first summer and a Biostatistics and Epidemiology research program at Columbia University in New York City during my second summer. These experiences solidified my passion for people-facing and data-driven work aimed at reducing disparities in fields such as healthcare, education, and nutrition. After serving on the frontend as a counselor-advocate for Women's Services Inc., a non-profit supporting those affected by sexual and domestic violence, a tutor for the Meadville Area Senior High School, and a coach at the Special Olympics of PA, I am excited to continue my journey and learn about developing equitable and long-term solutions from the backend.”
Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy is also a Bonner graduate school partner which provides Bonner Scholar/Leaders, alumni or staff pursuing any of Heinz College’s master’s degree programs the following partnership benefits:
Application fee waiver
A minimum scholarship of $30,000 (with further consideration for additional merit-based scholarship support)
For more information on Bonner graduate school partnerships, please visit http://www.bonner.org/graduate-school-partnerships