The University of Lynchburg has secured a three-year enrichment grant recently from the Bonner Foundation, in the amount of $40,000 annually, or $120,000 total.
The program is an initiative of The Corella & Bertram F. Bonner Foundation and the university’s Center for Community Engagement, where students work closely with city agencies and organizations. The university’s goal is to develop students with strong character and balanced perspectives who are prepared for effective leadership, according to the program’s website.
The grant will help fund Bonner programming, campus-wide initiatives, faculty workshops, two planned faculty fellows — one for UL’s Center for Community Engagement and one for the Bonner Leader Program in particular — and it will provide grants for students to help with service projects.
It also includes a senior fund that helps pay for graduate school testing, plus travel and clothing for job interviews.
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“So for us applying for this grant, it not only helps with the continuation of the expansion of the Bonner program and enhance in that work, but it also helps us campuswide with those initiatives,” said Cindy Ferguson, director of the Center for Community Engagement.
Tasha Gillum, coordinator of the Bonner Leader Program, said the grant money is not necessarily expanding the Bonner program on campus, but the grant “allows us to spread a little bit wider and ... open up possibilities for some of these opportunities to happen with students who are not in Bonner.”
The Bonner Leader Program will celebrate 20 years on campus next year.
The university is one in a network of over 65 schools across the country that have a Bonner Program. In the 2018-2019 academic year, the program began its transition from a two-year program to a four-year program to give students a “more holistic experience,” according to Ferguson.
Currently, there are 28 students in the program with a goal of having 10 students per cohort.
The students under the Bonner program work under a developmental model.
In the first year, students start in an exploration phase. This phase includes taking a look at what’s important to them, such as social justice issues. Students work with nonprofit partners and begin serving with them.
Ferguson explained students commit to two to three years of service with the nonprofit while they are in the program.
Over the next three years, students develop more leadership experience and apply their training and education they receive in their work with their assigned nonprofit.
Students finish their senior year with a presentation, which is a form of reflecting on their time in the program.
In a typical week, the Bonner students work six to eight hours with their paired nonprofit and spend two hours with their cohort, which involves training and education. The themes in the training include exploring identity and place, leading groups and other topics.
Gillum said this program is intended to be a reciprocal relationship between the community partners, students and the institution.
Kelsey Spickler, junior Bonner intern, said being in the program has “opened my world to endless opportunities as a student and future professional.”
A Bonner intern helps supervise and lead students within the program. Students in the program can apply to be an intern after their sophomore year; Ferguson said there are currently two interns in the program.
“I know I would not be the person I am today without the leadership, communication and professionalism skills I have learned thus far in this program,” Spickler said.
Marlee Murray, senior Bonner intern, said she plans on applying for a scholarship that will help pay for graduate school, as well as to buy interview clothing for upcoming job interviews after graduation.
“As a student leader for the Bonner Leader Program, I am so excited to be able to witness the growth that this grant will allow our community to have. Students are able to apply for scholarships and grants to help expand our projects with community partners, and our abilities to access resources academically,” Murray said.
Nicholas Fink, a first-year Bonner Leader, said although his journey in the program is still young, he feels empowered to make a positive impact in the world.
“I discovered stability and community through Bonner, where I grew my understanding of social issues and gained valuable skills in having difficult conversations, acting professionally, and creating change,” Fink said.