The Bonner Community Leaders (BCL) program is a part of a nationally recognized network of leadership and scholarship programs through the Bonner Foundation. Augsburg BCL is an intentionally diverse cohort of 20-25 students who commit to doing civic and community-based work and contribute to building a more just world, working in and with communities surrounding Augsburg University. BCL is ideally a 4-year program (students with at least 2 years left at Augsburg are welcome to apply), where students build deep relationships with a cohort of justice-minded peers and staff who support them throughout their academic journey. BCL contributes to Augsburg’s mission to educate students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers and responsible leaders.
For more information about the national network of Bonner programs, visit the national Bonner Foundation site.
*Some Bonner Leaders do further leadership development through the academic study of leadership in the Leadership Studies Minor.
Expectations of Bonner Leaders:
- IDEALS:
- We work with organizational partners on and off campus who have rich opportunities for students to grow and learn through leadership experience doing public work in community settings.
- We choose diverse organizational partners so that students are engaged around various social issues and strategies for making change, sharing those experiences with each other. In order for students to cultivate a critical lens of the public world, we encourage students to do deep reflection and analysis even around ground-level work.
- Although we value opportunities for students to work with partners doing direct-service, we prioritize opportunities for student leaders to do collaborative, co-creative work with the communities in which they participate and seek to expand such opportunities.
- As Augsburg students, Bonner Leaders are “students first”. Although this does require different flexibility than an employee who is not a full-time student, we encourage students to prioritize balance in order to cultivate capacity for effective future work.
STRUCTURE:
- Bonner Leaders work up to 15 hours (max) per week in academic year-long placements, with the option for summer placement.
- Bonner Leaders are encouraged to return to the same site each year if they are a good fit for the organization and there are increasing leadership roles they can take on.
- Bonner Leaders are required to participate in approximately 4-5 hours of programming per month and they are not permitted to schedule work shifts during that time. Meetings are every-other Wednesday from 4:30pm-5:45pm. View the calendar HERE.
- Additionally, Bonner Leaders will do individual check-ins with Program Staff once per semester and complete reflections throughout the academic year.
- Students who hold Junior and Senior academic status are eligible to receive the Sabo Scholarship in the amount of $3,500/academic year.