FAQs

The Bonner Leader application opens each year in October and interviews begin in mid-March.

If accepted into the Bonner Leader Program, you should register and attend the summer Student Orientation session June 15-16. Accepted Bonner Leaders will remain on campus June 15-17 for a First-Year Bonner Orientation. A family/parent program will be offered in tandem.

Bonner Leaders have been transformed by the personal and professional growth that comes from doing service.

Participants in the Bonner Program become part of a community that supports each other on campus and off.

The National Bonner Foundation is a group for all Bonner Leaders alumni from across the country. Bonners quickly find their community extends beyond the University of Lynchburg. They go out to look for summer internships and professional positions after graduation and find Bonner alumni there to help.

Bonner Leaders are committed to learning about social justice issues and becoming agents of change in their communities. If you are passionate about making a difference in your community, then Bonner is for you.

Bonner Scholar and Leader Programs across the nation have the goal of giving access to education and the opportunity to serve. The Bonner Leader Program stipend of $3,000 plus an annual scholarship of $1,000 help students pay for college by working in the community.

Bonner Leaders are paid through federal work-study or campus work-study funding. The University of Lynchburg Bonner Leader Program aims to have 75% of participating students qualify for federal work-study funding.

If you do not qualify for federal work-study, the University of Lynchburg has additional sources of funding to support campus work-study.

If you do not qualify for federal work-study, you can still be Bonner Leader and receive pay in a campus work-study position.

The Bonner Leader Program is a four-year commitment. Bonner Leaders complete 240 hours of service and 60 hours of Training and Enrichment (T&E) per year. This equates to roughly 8-10 hours each week.

Our weekly Bonner meetings help us connect and support each other. In these meetings, we develop leadership skills and learn more about the program. We also get to know our community better. Participation in these meetings will give you opportunities to develop new skills using the developmental model.

Bonner Leaders focus on the following issues within our community:

• Housing insecurity
• Food insecurity
• Access to health care
• Education
• Environment and sustainability
• Special populations
• Policy and advocacy

The developmental model aims to move Bonners along a trajectory from direct service to a capacity-building or a social action capstone project during their four years as a student at the University of Lynchburg.

Being a Bonner and an athlete or nursing major is possible. We have had many nursing students and some athletes succeed in the program. We strive to accommodate their needs about their academics first and their commitment to athletics or nursing all while being a Bonner.