Hometown:
Bisola grew up in Nigeria and attended high school in Armenia.

Concentration:
Bisola is planning on concentrating in International and Public Affairs.

Community Engagement through Swearer:
Bonner Community Fellow

Bisola Folarin '26 is a member of the 2026 cohort of the Bonner Community Fellowship (BCF). The BCF is a 4-year developmental program that provides students with opportunities to advance social justice through experiential learning opportunities and critical reflection. Students in the fellowship learn about ways to consider the intersections of power and privilege in community engagement while identifying paths to address the issues that matter most. This is what inspired Folarin’s interest in the fellowship, allowing her to pursue her interests in politics and community building.

In Folarin’s first semester, she began working with DESIGNxRI, a nonprofit that supports design innovators and businesses across Rhode Island, as part of her civic engagement for the BCF. Now, Folarin works in the Office of the Attorney General of Rhode Island, Peter F. Neronha. Working at Attorney General Neronha’s office has helped her get a sense of what it is like to work in government and helped her define what career paths interest her including working as a global ambassador. 

“When I was trying to figure out what internship I should go for,” advice from Swearer staff [including Mario Gomez, Manager, Community-Engaged Learning, and Mary Jo Callan, Swearer Center Executive Director,] helped Folarin streamline the decision-making process in “a way that helped my career prospects and my education.”

Being that Bonner Fellows are chosen before the start of their freshman year, the fellowship has also been an opportunity for Folarin to get to know her peers in a way that other programs do not always provide — all incoming Bonner Fellows live in the same unit on campus. “As a freshman, the community [Bonner provided] was needed because all the Bonner fellows lived in the same unit…so it's not just about [our interest] in social justice, it is about community as well.” 

Folarin describes how the BCF has impacted her experience on and off campus, sharing, "As a freshman, the community Bonner provided was necessary. All of the Bonner fellows lived in the same unit, so it's not just about our interest in social justice; it's about community as well. Getting involved with the Swearer Center has been a great opportunity to explore Rhode Island and through the BCF I have learned about how to approach communities and how to approach people."

Folarin is also involved with Brown University Mock Trial, Brown UNICEF and The Brown Political Review and aims to continue using the resources available to her as a Bonner Fellow to explore career paths through local internships, and to connect those career prospects to her coursework in International and Public Affairs at Brown. 

Explore different ways to engage through the Swearer Center!