Bonner fellows commit to:
- Participate in the program for their four years at Brown.
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Attend a weekly workshop Tuesday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the academic year:
- Trainings include cohort bonding, workshops with invited guest speakers, skills-based training, and meaningful reflections.
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Engage directly with a community partner organization in Providence for 6-8 hours of weekly:
- Examples include leading a weekly after-school lessons for elementary school students, connecting families to healthcare resources at a children's hospital, and building the capacity of an organization through a marketing strategy.
- Participate in our pre-season programming: a week filled with various activities to learn more about the program and what being a Bonner is all about and bond within your cohort and with other cohorts. Students have the chance to move back onto campus early at no cost to them and participate in sessions to prepare them for the upcoming academic year.
- Complete one “Engaged Summer” during their time at Brown - a 200-hour internship experience with a nonprofit organization or government agency that is aimed at meeting a community need.
- Participate in an all expense paid, week-long trip to Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi in their sophomore year. Students will dive deeper into the history of the Civil Rights Movement through engaging with the Tougaloo community, meeting with local activists, touring the Mississippi Delta and more.
Bonner fellows who fulfill these commitments receive:
- Leadership development to aid skill-building in socially just, community-based work.
- Intensive mentorship within the Swearer Center through an academic adviser and a Swearer-affiliated peer adviser.
- A yearly academic stipend for students with the highest level of demonstrated financial need (up to $2,000 per academic year).
- A lifelong community of Bonner fellows both at Brown University and other universities.
The Bonner Community Fellowship is structured to be:
- Developmental - Students gain increasing levels of experience, responsibility, and leadership across their four years with the Swearer Center.
- Multifaceted - Students participate in a range of leadership and professional development workshops that integrate their engaged learning with academic pursuits, social justice work, and reflective practice.
- Collaborative - Students work together as a cohort-based team at Brown and are introduced to a national community of Bonner scholars at other campuses.
We seek to develop a diverse team of students with a broad range of interests and passions, united by their desire to engage in community work. We are especially interested in students who are first-generation college students from low-income households and/or have demonstrated a passion for community engagement. We recognize that past circumstances may have prevented some students from participating in community service, so past experience is not a specific requirement. We look for candidates who are willing to commit and devote their time to engage in a long-term capacity and support students of diverse economic and social backgrounds to become leaders. Students with the highest demonstrated financial need may be eligible for a $2,000 annual academic year stipend.
Every academic year, we recruit a cohort of students from the incoming class of first-year students. The Bonner Community Fellowship application for the Class of 2024 is open on UFunds. The deadline to apply is July 1, 2020 at noon EDT (please note that the deadline has been extended from an earlier deadline of June 20). Applicants will need to log into UFunds using their Brown credentials. The Bonner application consists of an application on UFunds as well as a supplemental application on Google forms, which is linked in UFunds.
Betsy Shimberg, Interim Director, Swearer Center, Associate Dean of the College, Director of Student Development: [email protected]
