Student Profile
Robert Hackett
Five Bonners Selected as 2025 National Bonner ...

Meet our 2025 National Bonner Summer Interns! Michael Deem Jr. from Rider University brings his expertise in film and storytelling, while Spelman College's Olivia Gray focuses on advancing educational equity. Oberlin's Joseph (JP) Liddy contributes his experience in event coordination and community building, and Centre College's Kayla Rogers brings her passion for policy advocacy and civic engagement. Together, these talented student leaders will support the Bonner Foundation's mission while gaining valuable professional experience in the nonprofit sector.

Five Bonners Selected as 2025 National Bonner Foundation Summer Interns
Alumni Profile
Robert Hackett
Spelman College Bonner Alum, Dr. Maranda C. ...

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.

Spelman College Bonner Alum, Dr. Maranda C. Ward, Awarded The Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of Engagement
Campus Profile
Robert Hackett
A Banner Year for Bonners: TCNJ Bonner Program ...

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.

A Banner Year for Bonners: TCNJ Bonner Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary
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

Centre College Partners in Service at Grace Café

Centre College Partners in Service at Grace Café

Since its inception in 2015, Centre College students have been actively involved in the local “pay-as-you-can,” non-profit organization Grace Café. Today, Bonner Scholar Anna Bushong ‘21 stands as the youngest member to be inducted to the café’s board of directors.

She joins efforts with recent Centre graduate Margaux Crider ‘18, who servers as the café’s community outreach coordinator.

In her first year at the College, Bushong began working with Grace Café as her primary service site to fulfill her Bonner service hours. Committed to the mission of the café, she extended her work there through a summer internship, which led to the opportunity to serve as the Centre representative on the organization’s board of directors.  

“Anna brings a bright energy and presence to the café,” said Crider. “She has been a reliable and dedicated worker since the beginning. She is a humble leader, likely unaware of how much she inspires others.”

For Bonners at Brown, a deep dive into community engagement

For Bonners at Brown, a deep dive into community engagement

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Rainbow Chen, a second-year student at Brown, leads a group of high school students up and down Broad Street in Providence's South Side, a low-income, majority Hispanic neighborhood. They’re in search of local residents willing to be interviewed about living here for a project called “Humans of Providence,” which strives to unearth stories of people who traditionally have not been represented in narratives about living in the city.

So far, no takers — yet Chen and her fellow students are undaunted. They continue their search, sharing an easy camaraderie as they wander down the street. It’s obvious they’ve spent a lot of time together.

“This is not just a job for me,” Chen said. “I am so lucky that I get to spend time with these youth who are going to make such a big difference in the world.”

Bonner Scholars’ Summer Means Service

Bonner Scholars’ Summer Means Service

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- From Tanzania to Mississippi and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the South Carolina coast, Wofford College’s Bonner Scholars celebrated their summer “vacations” in service to others.

The program’s “Summer of Service” placed 31 Bonner Scholars in a variety of service positions this past summer. Many worked with children; some assisted special-needs adults; others returned to their hometowns to work in YMCA or summer camp programs.

Bonner Scholars are required to work with a nonprofit organization of their choice during two summers of their college years. Wofford scholars have worked in local, national and international communities, returning to campus with broader understanding and new perspectives on life’s challenges.

Bonners also serve during the academic year, but the summer service is full-time and gives students a more complete experience in a field of their choice.

Alumni Magazine Celebrates Berea's Spirit of Service

Alumni Magazine Celebrates Berea's Spirit of Service

The letter of the editor, Abbie Tanyhill Darst ‘03, opens as follows: “Since Berea’s founding, service to the region upon whose foothills Berea is located, has been fundamental to the function of the College and a product of the education with which our students leave. John G. Fee’s vision to educate the impoverished of all races and genders could only be met after meeting the needs of the communities Berea intended to serve. is idea of service and community involvement became the foundation for Berea to grow into the service-minded institution it is today.”

Read the full magazine here.

Once Homeless Bonner Beating the Odds

Once Homeless Bonner Beating the Odds

PINE HILLS, Fla. - Evans High School graduate Julien Serrano-O'Neil, 19, told News 6 he hopes his story of triumph and hardship will motivate and inspire other homeless and troubled youth that they can do whatever they put their minds to. 

O'Neil is a sophomore at Morehouse College, majoring in political science with a minor in philosophy.

Siena Bonner Student Research Unveils Pessimism, Opportunity

Siena Bonner Student Research Unveils Pessimism, Opportunity

Ivory Moore ’20 is feeling pretty good about her life chances these days. Moore grew up in the Capital Region and spent many hours at the Boys and Girls Club of Albany as a child. The formative experiences she enjoyed there provided direction and purpose.

This drive helped lead her to Siena College where she now develops curriculum for the Club as a Bonner Service Leader through the College’s Center for Academic and Community Engagement (ACE). Moore hopes this work will one day lead to a career – perhaps as a high school superintendent or maybe something even bigger: “I want to create my own high school!” 

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!

UNC-Charlotte's Tamara Johnson Honored as 'Emerging Leader'

UNC-Charlotte's Tamara Johnson Honored as 'Emerging Leader'

Tamara Johnson is the 2018 Civic Engagement Professional of the Year – Emerging Leader Award recipient, as presented by North Carolina Campus Compact.

This award recognizes a higher education administrator in the state who works to realize a campus-wide vision of service, supports the engagement of faculty and students and forms innovative campus-community partnerships. The “emerging leader” distinction is for an honoree who has been at the campus for five years or less.

Bonner Foundation Welcomes 2018 Summer Interns

Bonner Foundation Welcomes 2018 Summer Interns

Each summer, the Bonner Foundation welcomes four to eight motivated, passionate, and talented Bonner summer interns from our network of 65+ Bonner programs. During this eleven-week internship in Princeton, New Jersey, these professionals bring their Bonner Program experience and share it by developing new resources and strategies for the national network. This year, we are delighted to welcome five exceptional Bonner summer interns:

• Aleah Qureshi, Wofford College ‘18

• Alexander Nichols, Davidson College ‘19

• Ashlee Renich-Malek, Stetson University ‘18

• Kai Magino, The College of New Jersey ‘19

• Taylor Clarke, Stetson University ‘19

Profile of Marimar Mantuano, Guilford College Class of 2018

Profile of Marimar Mantuano, Guilford College Class of 2018

This spring, Guilford is graduating another distinguished class of difference-makers. They know what it means to live out the College's seven Core Values of community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship in their everyday lives. The future is in good hands with student like Marimar Mantuano '18, whom you meet in this video profile on Guilford College's website.

College of Charleston Celebrates 10th Bonner Program Anniversary

College of Charleston Celebrates 10th Bonner Program Anniversary

The College of Charleston' Bonner's Bonner Program was initiated 10 years ago by two students,  Jyn Repede, '09 and Jamila Harper '08

They learned of the program at the March 2008 IMPACT Conference where they kept meeting students who introduced themselves as "Bonners." Intrigued, they tracked down staff from the Bonner Foundation who encouraged them to take the lead in bringing the program to their campus. 

Guilford Bonner Wins Journalism Photography Award

Guilford Bonner Wins Journalism Photography Award

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. 

Capital University Announces Inaugural Bonner Leaders Class

Capital University Announces Inaugural Bonner Leaders Class

BEXLEY, Ohio, April 17, 2018 — Capital University today revealed its inaugural class and outlined the community organizations the students’ efforts will impact in the first year. This comes one year after announcing its formal partnership with The Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation to provide scholarships for lower-income, underrepresented and first-generation students with a passion for community engagement and social justice issues. 

Campus Civic Action Plans from Schools in Bonner Network

In recognition of Campus Compact‘s 30th anniversary in 2015-16, the National Campus Compact's Board of Directors asked member presidents and chancellors to join in signing an Action Statement, a declaration of shared commitment to the public purposes of higher education and a promise to develop a Campus Civic Action Plan to realize those purposes more fully.

So far, nine schools in the Bonner Network have completed their Civic Action Plans:

  1. College of St. Benedict and St. John's University
  2. Davidson College
  3. Edgewood College
  4. Rolllins College
  5. Stockton University
  6. University of North Carolina at Charlotte
  7. Wagner College
  8. Warren Wilson College
  9. Widener University

Volunteering in Trenton, Rider Bonners Learn to Focus on Others in Need

Volunteering in Trenton, Rider Bonners Learn to Focus on Others in Need

"The Freshman Year Experience is the cornerstone of the Bonner program. It really changes the students' perspective on service and is so impactful on their lives," says Joan Liptrot, assistant director of Campus Life for Service Learning. "Since the snow threw a wrench into our plans, we needed to come up with a way to create a similar experience locally."