Forming a Path in Public Health

Brandon Collins ’23, a neuroscience and global health double major, chose DePauw because of the small class sizes, tight-knit community and opportunity to be a Bonner scholar and environmental fellow. 

Collins, from Clarksville, Tennessee, began volunteering at the Putnam County Health Department in fall 2021, assisting in the COVID-19 vaccine clinic as part of his community service requirement for the Bonner Scholar Program. 

His interest developed into a passion, he said.

And since then, he has become increasingly involved with the health department.“The experience has been nothing short of highly rewarding and insightful,” he said. “The people I work with have become more and more like family and they are always incredibly supportive of my professional and academic goals.”

In February he was asked to work on a landfill well testing project. “I compiled data that had been collected over nine years and was able to present the results to the Putnam County Board of Health in May,” he said. “There I made a point of emphasizing that there were certain heavy metal concentrations that were above minimum detection levels that would have been unsafe for drinking and bathing.” Since the presentation, he has been able to get approval for furthering the investigation into how that might be affecting residences nearby. 

Collins said many faculty and staff members have guided him in significant ways. “Professor (Sharon) Crary (chemistry and biochemistry) was the reason I ended up majoring in global health after taking her intro course. She and professor Susanne Biehle (psychology and neuroscience) advised me on graduate school opportunities and guided me in one of the environmental health projects I’ve undertaken at the Putnam County Health Department.”

Following graduation, Collins plans to obtain a master of public health degree with the goal of earning a Ph.D. in public health.

Ursinus Bonner Alumna, Kate Bormann, Completes Masters Project on Reformative Prison Design

Kate Bormann (left) at Eknäs Juvenile Detention Facility in Stockholm, Sweden

Kate Bormann, 2018 Ursinus Bonner alumna, completed a masters project titled “Students: Sentenced: Architecture & Design for Imprisoned Rights” through Drexel University’s M.S. in Interior Architecture and Design program. Through the project, Bormann conducted a literature review, interviews, and participated in two site visits abroad. Her work culminated in the development of a model for reformative prison design.

In the introduction of her project presentation, Bormann writes how her Bonner service experiences led her to study prisons and design:

From 2014 to 2018, I volunteered twice a week at Montgomery County Correctional Facility to teach educational classes to incarcerated people. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, I entered the prison site with my teaching supplies to lead a class of ten to eighteen women in reading, writing, and math lessons. While there were many jarring and uncomfortable aspects to this experience, the part that impacted me the most was the conditions of the built environment.

Teaching in this space was one of the most challenging experiences of my life and it inspired my decision to go to graduate school for design.
I witnessed, first-hand, the undeniable power that the built environment has on peoples’ mental health and self-image, and it’s ability to promote certain cultures and mindsets.

Upon entering the prison, I routinely cleared a series of automated metal detectors and sliding barred doors before being escorted down a series of corridors. The “classroom”, where I met the students, (see sketch on previous page) consisted of concrete block walls, moldy stains discoloring the ceiling and floor, and iron bars obstructing views outside. For the two hours that I conducted class, we were locked in this space together, being watched through a series of cameras installed overhead. I spent hundreds of hours trying to motivate and encourage these women but the conditions of this environment relentlessly contradicted my efforts.

As I began studying Interior Architecture and Design at Drexel University, this experience was always in the back of my mind. Throughout every design project, I considered the ways that the spatial composition would affect the feelings of the inhabitants, and how my designs could promote a specific social dynamic. For my final thesis project, it only felt right to return my focus to the carceral setting, where my design journey began, to confront our flawed incarceration system through my new, trained, architectural lens.

My challenging experience teaching at Montgomery County Correctional Facility inspired this design project, and continues to inform the way I think as a designer, creator, and problem-solver.

Below are few snapshots of Bormann’s final thesis book “perspectives.”

Check out Bormann’s architecture and design work on her website here.

Rider University Bonner, Love Oluwadare ‘22 recognized by Center for the Development of Leadership Skills

Love Oluwadare ‘22 and Marc Suntup ‘74 are Rider's 2022 Leadership Legacy Award recipients.

Rider’s Center for the Development of Leadership Skills (CDLS) has named Love Oluwadare '22 and Marc Suntup '74 its 2022 Leadership Legacy Award recipients.

The award is bestowed upon one graduating senior and one alumnus or alumna each year who have demonstrated excellence in leadership through service to others. 

"Both Marc and Love embody the spirit of the Leadership Legacy Award in that their leadership was focused on assuring they included and empowered those around them as they developed initiatives for their communities that would create a lasting impact,” says Laura Seplaki, associate director of CDLS. 

A biology and health sciences double major, Oluwadare served in numerous leadership roles for organizations during her time at Rider. She was an orientation leader, a mentor in Rider's General Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies program for undeclared majors, the chairperson for the Student Entertainment Council, a community assistant and a tour guide.

Oluwadare also held various service roles within the Bonner Community Scholar Program. The scholarship program selects a small number of students per year to complete 300 hours of community service. She was selected to serve as a senior Bonner intern, a role reserved for one student at each Bonner campus who demonstrates a deep commitment to the program. As an intern, she played a key role in daily operations, creating student development opportunities, supporting fellow Bonner Scholars, especially first-year students, and served as a liaison to other organizations on campus and in the community. Oluwadare was also a Meals on Wheels intern and manager of Rider's on-campus student pantry. She mentored many younger members within the organization and even created a mentorship program for the Bonner Scholars.

Suntup has supported his community through work as a top-level leader and mentor with nonprofit organizations including the American Heart Association, the Gurwin Jewish Healthcare Foundation and Island Harvest Food Bank. Suntup and his teams raised more than $250 million dollars for the nonprofit organizations under his watch.

During his time at Rider as a political science major, Suntup was vice president of his freshman and sophomore classes, chairman of the Student Affairs Council, a resident assistant and a resident supervisor. 

Launched in 2004, the Center for the Development of Leadership Skills provides effective leadership training and quality programming to develop the leadership capacities of the Rider community. The Center complements and expands upon Rider’s tradition of producing tomorrow’s innovative leaders and confident professionals.