Signature Work

September 21-23, 2015

Exploring the Future with Academic and Community Engagement Leaders

Hosted by Allegheny Collegeand the Corella & Bertram F. Bonner FoundationMeadville, Pennsylvania

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Stay connected with the Bonner Network:

www.bonner.orgbonnernetwork.pbworks.com

For more information about this meeting, contact Ariane Hoy, Vice President at the Bonner Foundation

at ahoy@bonner.org or (609) 924-6663

“...Higher education can serve—for this generation of students and for the nation’s globally situated democracy—as one of the defining sites for

learning and practicing democratic and civic responsibilities. Since it is now considered necessary preparation for today’s economy, postsecondary education has a new and unparalleled opportunity to engage the majority

of Americans with the challenges we face as a diverse democracy.”

~ Excerpt from A Crucible Moment (2012)

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ContentsWelcome from Allegheny College! ! ! ! ! ! ! 4

Welcome from the Bonner Foundation! ! ! ! ! ! 6

Agenda! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 7

Presenter Biographies

! Alumni! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 13

! Academic Deans! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 15

! Scholars and Practitioners! ! ! ! ! ! ! 16

Context for This Meeting

! Impact of the Bonner Scholar and Leader Program!! ! ! 17

! Bonner Student Developmental Model! ! ! ! ! 18

! Bonner Partnership Developmental Model!! ! ! ! 19

! Bonner High-Impact Community Engagement Practices! ! ! 20

! What Works! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 21

! The LEAP Challenge!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 22

! Democratic Community Engagement and Full Participation! ! 23

! Literature Resources and Scholarship! ! ! ! ! 24

Logistics and Important Campus Phone Numbers!! ! ! ! 27

Note Pages! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 28

The Last Word: Student Reflection! ! ! ! ! ! ! 31

Map! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Reverse

Signature WorkExploring the Future with Academic

and Community Engagement Leaders

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On behalf of President James Mullen, Provost Emeritus Linda DeMeritt, Provost Ron Cole and Associate Provost Ande Diaz, Allegheny College’s Civic Engagement staff welcomes you to Signature Work: Exploring the Future with Academic and Community Engagement Leaders. We appreciate the opportunity to host what promises to be a remarkable gathering of visionaries, scholars and friends.

Wayne Meisel, former President of the Bonner Foundation, first set foot on Allegheny’s campus in the spring of 1997 at the invitation of Allegheny president

Richard Cook. The College launched a twenty member Bonner Leader program in 1998 concurrent with the opening of the Allegheny College Center for Experiential Learning. In 2005, Allegheny accepted the invitation to expand our Bonner program to include twenty Bonner Scholars. Currently, Allegheny has a sixty member Bonner corps comprised of equal numbers of leaders and scholars.

Our community partners give testimony. Our Allegheny Bonners positively impact the Meadville community. On our campus, the Bonner community is more than a force for engagement, it is a force for inclusion and social justice. Our diversity is our strength.

Over our three days together, we look forward to learning from and learning with colleagues from fine institutions as close as Erie and as far away as Topeka, Kansas. Please do not hesitate to ask if we can be of assistance during your time here with us.

Sincerely,The Civic Engagement staff,Allegheny College Gateway"

Ellen Bach, Bonner CoordinatorHeather Fish, Davies Program CoordinatorJennifer Kessner, Office ManagerPaige Missel, Lake Effect Leader VISTA LeaderErin O’Day-Frye, Lake Effect Leader, VISTA Program DirectorDave Roncolato, Director of Civic EngagementLee Scandinero, Lake Effect Leader AmeriCorps VISTAAutumn Vogel, Year of Meadville Organizer, Fahrner FellowCharmaine Wilson, Bonner Program Director & Assistant Director of Civic Engagement

Welcomefrom Allegheny College

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About Allegheny

“People who change the world come to Allegheny.” —James Mullen, President of Allegheny College

Founded in 1815, Allegheny College ranks among the oldest 1% of colleges and universities and is the 32nd oldest college in the United States. Allegheny is one of the hardy survivors that testify daily to the determination and vision of those early pioneers of higher education in America.

Allegheny is situated in Meadville, Pa., which was established in 1788 in the French Creek Valley, astride the route traversed by George Washington on his journey to Fort LeBoeuf a generation earlier. In 1815, Meadville was still a raw frontier town of about 400 settlers. They dreamed of a college that might bring the educational opportunities of New England to the frontier.

Today, Allegheny prepares graduates to be capable and farsighted leaders and rational and responsible citizens equipped to meet the challenges confronting all society.

About Meadville

Founded in 1788, the downtown district of Meadville is on the National Register of Historic Places. A metropolitan area with a population of 50,000, Meadville, Pennsylvania is approximately 30 minutes from I-90 and I-80, and a few miles off I-79. The Meadville Area (pop. 30,000) is 90 minutes north of Pittsburgh, two hours east of Cleveland and two hours southwest of Buffalo.

The county seat of Crawford County, Meadville offers easy access by interstate highway, recreation areas and regional attractions. Meadville also offers plenty of “local flavor” with local restaurants and shops.

AboutAllegheny College and Meadville

Accommodations

Holiday Inn Express18240 Conneaut Lake Rd, Meadville, PA 16335 (814) 724-6012

Hampton Inn11446 N Dawn Dr, Meadville, PA 16335 (814) 807-1446

Address for Your Smart DeviceAllegheny College 520 N Main St Meadville, PA 16335

Directions to the Campus Center 1. Travel on I-79 to Exit 147. Continue on Route 322

East. Take the Park Avenue Exit on the right. Follow Park Avenue for seven traffic lights past North Street and turn right on Randolph Street.

2. At the next traffic light, turn left onto North Main Street (near the shop Brambles).

3. Continue straight, veering to the right, and continue up the hill.

4. Turn right onto East College Street. At the next stop sign, turn left onto Highland Avenue. The Henderson Campus Center is on the left. The Tippie Alumni Center is near this.

the Bonner Foundation

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Greetings and thank you for being a part of this gathering, Signature Work: Exploring the Future with Academic and Civic Engagement Leaders. 

Over the past twenty-five years, the Bonner Foundation has worked in steady partnership with more than 65 colleges and universities around the United States to support student access and success, especially for low-income young adults.

Our approach is distinctive and civic, as expressed by the motto, “access to education, opportunity to serve.” The Bonner Program models engage students deeply and developmentally in community engagement and learning across four years. Bonner students are part of a cohort experience, one in which they learn and lead both on and off campus. By the time a Bonner is a senior, he or she has made significant investments of time (to the tune of more than 1,200-1,800 hours) in working to address community-defined issues, in a broad range of areas such as education, health care, the environment, arts, and economic development.  

While grounded in a deep co-curricular journey, this work is increasingly tied to the academic experience, linking study and action, theory and practice.  Our network has worked to seed and cultivate community-based and policy research, capacity building, and other models for connecting the curriculum with real-world application. Institutions in our network have formalized the integration of undergraduate experience with civic and community engagement through majors, minors, and issue-focused interdisciplinary concentrations that combine course work, undergraduate research, and summer internships. We have worked closely with schools in the Bonner High-Impact Initiative to more intentionally make engagement deeper, more pervasive, and more integrated.

We are here in Meadville to envision the future of this work, especially in light of its relevance to opportunities to scaffold community engaged learning into integrated pathways that culminate in Signature Work, as expressed in AAC&U’s Leap Challenge.  By convening academic deans, civic engagement staff, student and alumni leaders, faculty, and partners to share ideas, challenges, and best practices, we aim to move our collective work forward.  

In the spirit of all Bonner network gatherings, we seek to move “from best practice to common practice” through sharing and learning together. We thank you for joining us in this shared effort. 

Welcome from

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• Share and envision strategies for scaffolding student learning experiences that are linked with civic and community engagement (and the opportunity for real world impact).

• Expand your network and shared knowledge through dialogue with Chief Academic Officers and top-ranking civic engagement leaders about critical issues in our collective work today.

• Discuss opportunities for leadership and alignment of community engagement with institutional priorities and challenges – such as reputation, enrollment, faculty roles and rewards, and student success.

Meeting Outcomes

Signature WorkExploring the Future

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Monday, September 213:00 pm - 4:30 pm    " Registration - Tippie Alumni Center

4:30 pm - 5:15 pm     " Opening Reception - Tippie Alumni CenterNetwork and talk with alumni who have completed or are engaged in signature community engaged projects.

5:15 pm - 6:45 pm     " Opening Session and Dinner - Tippie Alumni Center

•Linda DeMeritt, Provost Emeritus of Allegheny College (2003-2015)•David Roncolato, Director of Civic Engagement and Professor of Community and Justice Studies at Allegheny•Lily McNair, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wagner College •Signature Work Spotlight by Kelly Behrend, Bonner graduate from the University of Richmond

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm     " A Conversation - Tippie Alumni Center Scaffolding Signature Work with Community Engagement " " "

•Ande Diaz, Associate Provost for Diversity and Organizational Development at Allegheny College•Bobby Hackett, President of the Bonner Foundation•Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Scholar at the Association of American Colleges and Universities •John Saltmarsh, Director of New England Resource Center for Higher Education~ moderated by Ariane Hoy, Vice President of the Bonner Foundation

8:30 pm on             Evening Reception and casual networking

Signature Work Agenda

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Tuesday, September 228:00 am - 9:00 am       " Breakfast (with buffet & healthy options) - Henderson Campus Center " " " (#33 on map) - Room 301-302

9:15 am - 10:30 am" A Collaborative Turn - Room 301-302." " " Trends and Directions in Community Engagement

John Saltmarsh will share trends, directions, questions, and stumbling blocks for the field – drawing on scholarship, experience, and data from the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.

10:45 am - 12:15 pm   " Critical Issue Discussion and Strategy Sessions. Deans and top-ranking staff will meet separately, “behind closed doors,” to engage in discussion and identify critical issues. These issues, reported at lunch, will be the basis of Wednesday morning’s sessions.

• Deans’ Meeting - Room 206 ~ facilitated by Ariane Hoy, Bonner Foundation• Civic Engagement Leaders’ Meeting - Room 301-302 ~ facilitated by Dave Roncolato, Allegheny

College

12:15 pm -1:45 pm" Lunch

•Report backs from leaders of Critical Issue Discussions. •Sharing of insights on the opportunities for leadership, change, and alignment•Signature Work Spotlight by Lauren Kinser, Bonner graduate of Lindsey-Wilson College

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm       " Best Practice Discussion Sessions - choose from 5

Developing the Ingredients and Scaffolding for Civic Signature Work: Choose from five topics. Each will provide an opportunity for participants to share ideas and solutions. Descriptions for each session follow on this and the next few pages:

• Aligning Your Leadership Team (across Academic and Student Affairs) - Room 303• Collaborating Deeply with Community Partners - Pelletier Collaboratory (#28)• Local Resources and National Partnerships - Tippie Alumni Center Board Room (#26)• Models for Engaging Faculty and Departments - Room 206 (downstairs)• Student Leadership and Learning Outcomes - Reis Hall Treasurer Room (#22 on map)

• Aligning Your Leadership Team (across Academic and Student Affairs), facilitated by Mary Cummings, Vice President of Student Services and Jacquelyn Core, Provost at Waynesburg University • Creating integrated curricular and co-curricular pathways for students – especially those that involve community engagement – requires working strategically across the institution. This session will discuss best practices for aligning senior leadership and enlisting the buy-in and active leadership and ownership of faculty, staff, and offices across the institution. There will be a place to share both what’s working and key challenges. - Room 303

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• Collaborating Deeply with Community Partners, facilitated by David Roncolato, Director of Civic Engagement and Professor of Community & Justice Studies at Allegheny College and Bobby Hackett, President of the Bonner Foundation • In order to create scaffolded opportunities for students’ academic learning, intentional and parallel opportunities for student engagement must be identified and sustained with nonprofit, school, and government partners. This session will explore strategies and best practices for identifying capacity-building projects that partners want, building a long-range vision and strategic plan with partners, incorporating problem-solving, and engaging partners as educators. We will talk about useful tools, frameworks, and innovations. - Pelletier Collaboratory

• Local Resources and National Partnerships facilitated by Ann Areson, Associate Vice President for Development at Allegheny College and Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Scholar at AAC&U • Effectively building and sustaining community engaged learning and signature work pathways also needs resources and a budget! This session will involve discussion of how others in the institution – including staff in Development, Advancement, and Alumni Relations – can help garner resources. In addition, we will share ideas for how to conceptually connect your institution’s work with strategic partnerships and critical issues in higher education, such as through the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) working group, the Bonner Network, Campus Compact, Project Pericles, Imagining America, and the Association of American Colleges & Universities. While you may leave with more questions than answers, we expect a lively session. - Tippie Alumni Center Board Room

• Models for Engaging Faculty and Departments, facilitated by Mathew Johnson, Director of Academic Community Engagement and Associate Professor of Sociology at Siena College • How do we bring faculty to the table and keep them highly invested and involved in this work, not merely for a project or semester but over multiple terms and years? How do we build faculty development and engagement strategies that are sensitive and responsive to institutional culture and structure, as well as faculty concerns about research, scholarship, and rewards? This session will invite sharing of best practices for engaging faculty – including departments – in building pathways for civic signature work. Come with ideas and questions. - Room 206

Signature Work Agenda

Tuesday, September 22 (continued)

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• Student Leadership and Learning Outcomes, facilitated by Ashley Cochrane, Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning through Service and Linda Strong-Leek, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Berea College, with help from students/alumni - Developmental structures, expectations, and indeed opportunities for student voice and leadership are needed to bring deep and pervasive community engagement to life. Indeed, for civic signature work to flourish, student leadership and initiative will be crucial. Additionally, as institutions and centers integrate this work, we need to articulate outcomes for student learning and leadership – and measure them. Come share strategies and best practices for this vital component. - Reis Hall Treasurer Room

3:45 pm - 5:00 pm      " Tales of Transformation - Room 301-302

What Does It Take to Build Engaged Campuses and Signature Work? Dialogue and share stories and strategies. Beginning with administrators, community partners, faculty, and students from Allegheny College (and its Bonner High-Impact Team), this session will then open up to sharing• Featuring Elizabeth Paul, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Stetson University

Responding to the themes raised so far and to invite further conversation, members of the Bonner High-Impact Team at Allegheny College will open the conversation, sharing their own experience and welcoming the responses of all participants. Special presentations coordinated by Bonner High-Impact Team members and• Stephanie Martin, Associate Professor of Economics, Faculty Chair of Community and Justice Studies,

and Director of the Volunteer Income Tax Initiative at Allegheny College

5:00 pm - 5:45 pm     " Shuttle Transportation into Meadville and Reception - Historic Academy Theater.

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm       " Dinner at Stone United Methodist Church and Immersion in Meadville. Join Allegheny's vital partners and enjoy a presentation on Allegheny's Theme for 2015-2016: “The Year of Meadville.” This evening is designed to provide everyone with a grounded, participatory example of the future of Signature Work and deep community engagement, in ways that are connected with the college’s mission and strategic future:

•Julie Wilson, Assistant Professor of Communication Arts •Kerstin Martin, Carr Hall Garden Manager and Director of Community Wellness Initiative•Autumn Vogel, Year of Meadville Organizer, Fahrner Fellow•Signature Work Spotlight by Katie Beck, Bonner graduate of Allegheny College

Followed directly by a lovely Dessert Reception at the Founder’s House in downtown Meadville. Please join us!

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8:00 - 8:30 am " " Optional visit to the Gateway in Pelletier Library

8:30 am - 9:30 am" Breakfast

9:30 am - 10:45 am      " Welcome Remarks " " " President James Mullen, Allegheny College

Leadership, Change, and Alignment: Strategies and Actions. Small group discussions on the topics generated through yesterday’s conversations.

Topics (such as enrollment, diversity, and changing roles of centers) will be generated from participants and finalized during the meeting.

11:00 am - 12:30 pm    " Advancing Our Collective Work: What are the Stories (and Challenges) " " We Want to Share?

The Bonner Foundation will be working in partnership with the Association of American Colleges and Universities to generate an issue of Diversity & Democracy, for publication in October 2016, that focuses on signature work as civic and engaged with community.

Diversity & Democracy supports higher education faculty and leaders as they design and implement programs that advance civic learning and democratic engagement, global learning, and engagement with diversity to prepare students for socially responsible action in today's interdependent but unequal world.

Additionally, the Foundation publishes Engage, an annual publication that highlights inspiring stories, proven models and best practices, and promising research and scholarship for how community engagement, and public scholarship are transforming students, campuses, and communities.

In this final block, we’ll talk about how to share our learning, challenges and leadership nationally – generating publication ideas, next steps, and how the Foundation can continue to support the connections amongst academic deans and civic engagement leaders.

See the current issue at http://www.aacu.org/diversitydemocracy/2015/summer

See the current issue at http://www.bonner.org/engage-publication/

Wednesday, September 23

Signature Work Agenda

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Katie Beck, Bonner Scholar from Allegheny College (Class of 2014). As a student, Katie worked with several arts and theatre organizations, which complemented her academic studies in Theatre. She worked for three years during college as the Arts Program Coordinator for Meadville Council on the Arts. In this role, she taught a low-cost theatre program and collaborated with the Meadville Autism Outreach Center and Second District Elementary school to provide arts opportunities for youth. She interned with the Akron Art Museum for one summer, teaching a community arts project to children and youth at local libraries. As a senior, Katie developed a community-based theatre capstone project in partnership with the Bethel AME Church in Meadville. She conducted research and story circles about the history of the church and its connection to the Underground Railroad and Civil Rights Movement. Working in collaboration with local community residents and youth, she developed a play about this. Performers included adults and youth from Meadville. Since graduating, Katie finished a year of service with AmeriCorps Ohio Reading Corps in Cuyahoga County. In 2016, she will establish Gum-Dip Theatre, a community-based company, that will debut its first production in Meadville.

Kelly Behrend, Bonner Scholar from the University of Richmond (Class of 2010). As a student, Kelly focused her community engagement on working with refugees and immigrants. She led a team of 20 on and off campus English as a Second Language teachers to provide formal classroom instruction and later founded the Richmond Refugee and Immigrant Issues Coalition involving community members, college students, faculty, and local experts. This led her to study issues of immigration and asylum abroad in Spain and Ireland, where she delved into global migration by working with migrant community centers and activist groups. As a summer intern at the Bonner Foundation, she brought this experience to develop curriculum and resources on global engagement for the national network. Her senior thesis, "The Refugee Ex-Factor: A Framework Toward the Understanding of Excluded People", focused on these issues was nominated for the top prize from the Midwest Political Science Association. Since graduating, Kelly worked as a Program Associate at the Bonner Foundation, Director of Corporate Responsibility for Peacework, and is now Director of Strategy for Ride, a socially responsible transportation start-up.  She also earned a Master’s in Sustainable Development & Corporate Responsibility at the EOI Business School in Madrid as a Rotary International Scholar.

Presenters: Alumni

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Elvis Diaz, Bonner Scholar at Berry College (Class of 2015). Elvis focused on promoting college access (especially for first generation students) through mentoring at the House of the Children Academy and Boy's and Girls Club. As a sophomore, he led his first issue-based research team focusing on college access and the challenges students face in reaching higher education. Elvis connected a series of summer internships to develop his leadership, event management, program management, and recruitment skills, which connected to his major in Finance. He served as a Coordinator for Action Ministries and Orientation Leader at Berry. As a rising junior, he served as an Admissions & Recruitment Intern with City Year leading to his work with Admissions at Berry. As a rising senior, he played a key role during the 2014 Bonner Summer Leadership Institute. In his final year, he took on being an Internal Operations & Campus Visibility Intern with the Bonner Center for Community Engagement, a year long capstone project. In this role, he creatively worked across the campus, including the Dean of Students and Provost, to enhance campus-wide engagement. He led another issue-based team on the Opportunity Gap, where he continued to focus on promoting college access. After graduating, he interned with the Bonner Foundation, developing curriculum on internships and a business plan for launching a Bonner Alumni Mentoring Project. 

Lauren Kinser, Bonner Leader at Lindsey-Wilson College (Class of 2015). As a student, Lauren focused both on health care through working with Hardin Memorial Health and its Diabetes Management program and on youth development through Upward Bound, dance, and theater. As a Communications and Psychophysiology major, she also creatively tied her studies to enhancing community engagement at Lindsey and in the Bonner network. As a national Summer Intern at the Bonner Foundation, she served as a Communications and Marketing Intern, developing promotional material, videos, and even trainings in Best Practices for Social Media and Volunteer Recruitment in the Digital Age. She also initiated a senior capstone project in which she read and developed curriculum on the characteristics of Millennials (drawing on Levine and Dean’s Generation on a Tightrope). In her final summer of service, she worked with Home of Hope in Bralia, Romania. A Senior Class President, Peer Mentor, and Resident Assist, Lauren was recognized with Lindsey’s Student Leadership Award. Lauren will be pursuing her Masters in Public Health in hopes of serving populations in impoverished areas globally.

Presenters: Alumni

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Linda C. DeMeritt, Emeritus Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Allegheny College (Ph.D.) between 2003 and 2015. For 21 years before assuming that role, she served at Allegheny as a professor of German in the Modern and Classical Languages Department, where she taught all levels of language, culture, and literature. While still a faculty member, Dr. DeMeritt received the College’s National Endowment of the Humanities divisional chair for her record of scholarship, wrote and served as principal investigator for an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to use technology as a means to bring international perspectives more fully into the language classroom, and began an after-school program called the German Club, one of Allegheny’s first collaborative projects with local schools. DeMeritt has expertise in strategic planning and writing grants, including a recent grant focused on a community-based wellness initiative. She received her B.A. from Michigan State University, a Masters from the University of Illinois, and her Doctorate from Michigan State University, all in German language and literature. During her tenure as Provost, Allegheny passed a civic learning requirement.

Lily D. McNair, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wagner College (Ph.D.). Dr McNair sees her primary role as furthering the academic excellence that exists at Wagner. Students graduating from Wagner College should have deeply engaged in learning a discipline that provides them with the skills, knowledge, and resources to continue with any of the following: graduate programs, academic professional programs, or successful workplace employment. Coupled with this strong academic base, every student graduating from Wagner should have deepened their commitment to contributing to their local, national and international communities around them in ways that enhance others’ lives. While at Wagner, she envisions every student having had opportunities through their classes and their co-curricular activities to contribute to the College, to the local community, to the greater metropolitan community, and to the international community. Prior to her appointment at Wagner in July of 2011, Dr. McNair

served as Associate Provost of Research and Divisional Coordinator for Science and Mathematics at Spelman College. Dr. McNair was the first African American woman to obtain tenure and promotion in the Department of Psychology at UGA in 1999.

Elizabeth (Beth) Paul, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Stetson University (Ph.D). Dr. Paul also holds the rank of full professor with tenure in the Department of Psychology. Prior to her arrival at Stetson, Paul was vice provost and professor of psychology at The College of New Jersey, a public residential college, where she had served since 1992, holding positions as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs and other positions. Her academic experience also includes faculty positions at The College of New Jersey and Wellesley College and as a research associate at Harvard University. While at The College of New Jersey, she worked with the Bonner Foundation of Princeton, N.J., on its national efforts to engage students in meaningful service and learning with the community. Well-known as a consultant focusing on student learning outcomes assessment, strategic planning and change management, Paul has held national leadership roles in key higher education initiatives such as the Council for Undergraduate Research. She earned a doctorate in personality psychology from Boston University and bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston University.

Presenters:Academic Deans

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Caryn McTighe Musil, Ph.D., Senior Scholar and Director of Civic Learning and Democracy Initiatives at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. In her role as AAC&U’s Senior Vice President for 14 years, she helped mobilize powerful and overlapping educational reform movements involving civic, diversity, global learning, gender, and social responsibility. Currently she is advancing civic learning as an expected outcome for every college graduate which grows out of her authorship of A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future (2012). During her 23 years at AAC&U, Dr. McTighe Musil has directed more than twenty national and international projects. She has written numerous articles, including “Remapping Education for Social Responsibility: Civic, Global, and U.S. Diversity” (2011) and “Educating for Personal and Social Responsibility: The Civic Learning Spiral” (2009). Caryn has been a partner to the

Bonner Foundation in its development of civic engagement minors and academic programs and its High-Impact Initiative. Dr. Musil received her B.A. from Duke University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Northwestern University. Before moving into administrative leadership, she was a faculty member for eighteen years.

John Saltmarsh, Ph.D., Director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE) and faculty member at University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Saltmarsh leads the project in which NERCHE serves as the partner with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for Carnegie’s elective Community Engagement Classification. He is the author, most recently, of an edited volume (with Matthew Hartley) of “To Serve a Larger Purpose:” Engagement for Democracy and the Transformation of Higher Education (2011) and a book with Edward Zlotkowski, Higher Education and Democracy: Essays on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (2011), co-author of the Democratic Engagement White Paper (NERCHE, 2009), as well as numerous articles. He is a member of the National Review Board for the Scholarship of Engagement and has served as a National Scholar with Imagining America’s Tenure Team Initiative. Dr. Saltmarsh has also been a partner to the Bonner Foundation and coach for the

Bonner High-Impact Initiative since 2011. He directed the Project on Integrating Service with Academic Study at Campus Compact. He holds a Ph.D. in American History from Boston University, taught at Northeastern University and as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Feinstein Institute for Public Service at Providence College.

Ande Diaz, Ph.D. is the Associate Provost for Diversity and Organizational Development at Allegheny College. Diaz provides direct leadership to create an inclusive campus and support efforts to diversify the campus community. Diaz has served in a variety of roles in higher education, including senior research consultant at the Tisch College for Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University; media, arts and public service career advisor at Harvard College; and assistant dean for multicultural affairs and interim director of the Pace Center for Community Service at Princeton University. Most recently she directed the Intercultural Center at Roger Williams University, where she also taught American Studies and first-year seminars. Her research areas include civic engagement, inter-ethnic alliances and intergroup dialogue. Her work has been published in the Journal of American Ethnic History, the AAC&U publication “Diversity

and Democracy” and the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning. She serves on the board of The Democracy Imperative. Diaz holds a B.A. from Yale University, an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Ph.D. in human and organizational development from Fielding Graduate University.

Presenters: Scholars and Practitioners

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Since 1990 (and the first Bonner Scholar Program at Berea College), more than 15,000 students have graduated as Bonner Scholars or Leaders. During this time, the value and impact of this work has begun to emerge more strongly. Below are a few highlights:

•Between 2002 and 2009, the Bonner Foundation – with the leadership and expertise of Cheryl and Jim Keen and Kelly Hall – conducted a seven-year longitudinal Student Impact Survey. Designed and implemented each year with more than 1,500 students in 25 institutions’ Bonner Scholar Programs, this study documented the significant impacts of a four-year

developmental experience (Keen and Hall 2009). The study attested to the significant impact of the four-year co-curricular model on students’ success in college, development of leadership skills, and lifelong civic responsibility. Key factors for the program’s impact are its four-year structure, cohorts, “dialogue across difference,” and mentoring.

• A 2010 large scale survey of Bonner Alumni (with more than 3,500 respondents) suggested that graduates benefit in other notable ways. For one, their experiences in service and community engagement have deep effects on their career and vocational choices. They find meaning and even equanimity because of their engagement. Analysis of alumni surveyed using Steinberg, Hatcher, and Bringle’s “Civic Minded Graduate” scale suggested that graduates show markedly higher “civic professionalism” (Richard et al. 2011). More than 90% of graduates voted in the most recent election, much higher than the national average. Finally, these graduates stay engaged civically long after college, not only through voluntary work but through vocational choices and civic associations.

• Tracking of Bonner students’ retention suggests that their retention is higher than peers at every institution. A study at Berea College undertaken by its office of Institutional Research also found that students involved in the Bonner Program or other leadership roles within its center also have significantly higher grades than their peers (Berea College Office of Institutional Research, 2012).

• These findings mirror those of larger scale studies that point to the powerful multiplier impacts of pathways (especially of multiple high-impact practices) for students (Finley & McNair, 2013). The opportunity to link developmental experiences in community engagement – like first year experiences, service-learning, internships, and capstones – can support student success as well as community impacts.

REFERENCES:

Berea College Office of Institutional Research (2012). Study comparing graduation and grades of CELTS student leaders with the student body. Internal report shared with the Bonner Foundation.

Finley, A., and McNair, T. (2013). Assessing high-impact learning for underserved students. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Hoy, A. and Johnson, M. (Eds.). (2013). Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Keen, C., & Hall, K. (2009). Engaging with difference matters: Longitudinal student outcomes of co-curricular service-learning programs. The Journal of Higher Education, 80 (1), 59-79.

Richard, D., Keen, C., Hatcher, J., Bean, D, and Pease, H. (2011). Engagement multiplied: The impact of college-level dialogue and reflection experiences on civic mindedness as professionals. Proceedings from IARSLCE 2011, Chicago, IL.

about Bonner’s ImpactWhat we know

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The BonnerIntegrated Developmental Model

“Expectation”ethic of service and caring

Diverse, primarily low-income students are recruited and selected with attention to their interest in and capacity

to grow through an intensive pathway connected to community engaged learning.

“Exploration”intentional immersion into service and community

HIPs: First year Experiences (Immersion)

Knowledge: place

professionalism, time management, goal setting, listening, reflection

“Experience”commitment to a place, issue, and partner/community

HIPs: Service-Learning; Learning Communities; Core Curriculum

Knowledge: issue-based learning; disciplinary

teamwork, facilitation, balance, conflict resolution, capacity building

“Example”leadership role within community and on campus

HIPs: Undergraduate research (CBR); Diversity & Global Learning

Knowledge: economics, public policy; interdisciplinary

peer leadership; project management; event planning; fundraising

“Expertise” (or “Excellence”)integrated application of learning and experience

HIPs: Capstones, Presentation of Learning

Knowledge: civic agency, civic knowledge, social responsibility

public education, public speaking, marketing, networking, evaluation

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Signature Work

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DevelopmentalCommunity Partnerships

“Exemplary Partnerships”

sustained teams (“deep partnership”)long-range (multiyear)

strategic plan (or “collective impact” focus)

ongoing academic community engagement and capacity-building projects; partners as co-educators

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High-Impact Community Engagement

“Engaged Partnerships”

agency can count on an annual “team” (at least three students) with clear roles (direct service and capacity

building)

ongoing connection to at least one faculty member; role of partners in training students; annual plan and evaluation

“Emerging Partnerships”

clear partnership plan (ideally 3+ year commitment)

agency working to develop team (at least three students) with developmentally distinct positions

clear liaison; regular communication; experimental faculty roles

“Exploratory Partnerships”

discussion of the Bonner developmental model

have a few student volunteers (Bonners)

exploratory/short-term academic or co-curricular projects

clear understanding of mission, programs, and structure

Each stage includes:

• annual completion of capacity building and direct service Opportunities Form

• annual completion of inventory of Accomplishments (what projects were done)

• ongoing management by professional staff and student leaders

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What WorksScholarship and research has begun to mount about the impact of signature and engaged experiences on student learning, persistence, and post graduate success. In the past few decades, numerous studies have surfaced the value of high-impact practices like first year experiences, internships, service-learning, undergraduate research, and capstones on student persistence (Kuh 2008) and deep learning. Simply put, engagement works.

Last year, responding “to the call for increased accountability among higher education institutions,” Gallup and Purdue University (2014) conducted a study involving more than 30,000 graduates with baccalaureate degrees. They found that six key dimensions of the undergraduate experience correlate with post-graduate engagement in the workplace and well-being. These include (1) having at least one professor

who cared about them and (2) made them excited about learning, (3) having a mentor, (4) working on a project that took a semester or more to complete, (5) having an internship or job that allowed them to apply learning, and (6) being extremely active in extracurricular activities. Only 3% of those surveyed had all six experiences.

Additionally, this report suggested that these experiences increase graduates’ success in the workplace – important given key differences in postgraduate earnings by institutional type. Given persistent and increasing gaps by income in college completion, pathways that work are needed (Calahan & Perna, 2015).

The Bonner Scholar and Leaders Program, by design, include all six of these elements. Yet the program also includes another: a focus on promoting the highest levels of student leadership and learning through community and civic engagement. We know that Bonner students often culminate their undergraduate education by integrating their studies and community engagement through a signature project. We are here to explore how we might make this more intentional, deep, and pervasive.

REFERENCES:

Cahalan, M., & Perna, L.W. (2015, February). Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States: 45-Year Trend Report.

Gallup Inc. (2014). Great jobs great lives: The 2014 Gallup-Purdue index report: A study of more than 30,000 college graduates across the U.S.

Kuh, G.D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: what they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.

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Over more than a decade, the Association of American Colleges and Universities has worked to draw attention to models for liberal education that prepare “students to understand and manage complexity, diversity, and change. Students who experience an engaged liberal education gain broad knowledge (e.g., of science, culture, and society) and in-depth knowledge in a specific area of interest. They develop high-level transferable skills,

including communication, evidence-based reasoning, and problem solving, as well as proficiencies particular to their fields” (AACU, 2015).

This year, the LEAP Challenge calls on colleges and universities to engage students in Signature Work that will prepare them to integrate and apply their learning to a significant project with meaning to the student and to society. Additionally, “The LEAP Challenge is designed to flexibly allow all students—whatever their institution or chosen field—to gain this blended model of liberal education and the outcomes so important for success and well-being in today’s world” (AACU, 2015).

The architecture for such institutional pathways can integrate well with developmental civic and community engagement, like that of the Bonner Program. Through such integrated pathways, students may be able to augment and apply their academic learning from a variety of disciplines for a real purpose, one that benefits a partner, specific population, neighborhood, community, or society.

REFERENCES:

Association of American Colleges and Universities (2015). The LEAP challenge: Education for a world of unscripted problems. Washington, DC: AAC&U.

Gallup Inc. (2014). Great jobs great lives: The 2014 Gallup-Purdue index report: A study of more than 30,000 college graduates across the U.S.

Hart Research Associates. Falling short? College learning and career success. Washington, DC: AAC&U.

Hoy, A. and Johnson, M. (Eds.). (2013). Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

The Relevance ofthe LEAP Challenge

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“...whether this educative process is carried on in a predominantly democratic or non-democratic way becomes therefore a question of transcendent importance not only for education itself but for its final effect upon all the interests and activities of a society that is committed to the democratic way of life.” ~ John Dewey, 1937.

Two other key ideas can be helpful to frame our conversation about the future of campus-community partnerships and community engagement. One of them is the notion of democratic engagement, which:

locates the university within an ecosystem of knowledge production. In this ecosystem, the university interacts with outside knowledge producers in order to create new problem-solving knowledge through a multi-directional flow of knowledge and expertise. In this paradigm, students learn cooperative and creative problem-solving within learning environments in which faculty, students, and individuals [reside] (Saltmarsh, Hartley, & Clayton, 2009).

This engagement moves beyond a traditional “placement” or activity orientation, so that students, faculty, and others work in partnership and reciprocity with external partners (which can include schools, nonprofits, government agencies, and employers) to do academic work and collaborative problem-solving. In this way, higher education serves its public purpose and works collaboratively with other actors to address issues like community development, environmental sustainability, literacy, nutrition, and reducing poverty. Students, partners, practitioners, policy makers, and others work in deep partnerships with faculty and the academy.

A second key idea is full participation, which frames the intersections of student and faculty diversity, community engagement, and academic success as vital to the well-being and transformation of communities:

Full participation incorporates the idea that higher education institutions are rooted in and accountable to multiple communities both to those who live, work, and matriculate within higher education and those who physically or practically occupy physical or project spaces connected to higher education institutions (Sturm, Eatman, Saltmarsh, & Bush, 2011).

Full participation also helps to articulate the interrelationships between four key types of activities:1. Increasing student access and success, particularly for underrepresented, first-generation, and low-

income students; 2. Diversifying higher education faculties, often with separate projects for hiring, retention, and

climate; 3. Promoting community, civic, or public engagement for students; and, 4. Increasing support for faculty’s public or engaged scholarship.

REFERENCES:

Saltmarsh, J., Hartley, M. & Clayton, P. (2009). Democratic engagement white paper. New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications. Paper 45.

Sturm, S., T. Eatman, Saltmarsh, J., and Bush, A. (2011). Full participation: Building the architecture for diversity and public engagement in higher education [White Paper]. New York, NY: Center for Institutional and Social Change.

Aspirations Democratic Engagement and Full Participation

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High-Impact Community Engagement

The Bonner Foundation and network has also worked to articulate a set of high-impact community engagement practices (HICEPs) that serve as principles and practices for effectively designed and implemented community engagement. These practices rely on and bolster many of the same “multipliers” that high-impact practices do–such as time on task, intensity, feedback (mediating the experience of student as learner and student as architect or doer), and engagement. The HICEPs also support (or indeed overlap with) many of the outcomes that faculty and instructors may find important for their courses and disciplines.

• “Place”: Focuses on understanding and responding to the history, assets, needs, politics, economics, and other facets of the community (i.e., partner, neighborhood, city, polity) where work is occurring.

• “Humility”: Affirms that each stakeholder or involved individual (student, faculty member, community partner, elected leader, etc.) brings valuable knowledge and experience to bear for the work.

• “Integration”: Created and carried out in ways that build across and break down boundaries (such as curricular and co-curricular; disciplinary; or town/gown) and leverages stakeholders

• “Depth”: Fosters pathways for students to carry out multiyear projects tied to studies, for partners to benefit from strategic agreements and capacity building, and for institutions to make sustained commitments

• “Development”: Informed by appropriate student and organizational developmental needs and capabilities, which change

• “Sequence”: Structured to include a progression of projects or roles (i.e., for students and faculty) over time (multiple terms)

• “Teams”: Involves multiple participants with roles and positions that include multiple levels (i.e. direct service, research)

• “Reflection”: Involves regular structured and unstructured reflection in oral, written, and innovative formats (such as digital storytelling or blogging).

• “Mentors”: Involves dialogue and coaching that contributes to the analysis and synthesis of learning

• “Learning”: Involves collaborative, responsive, and continuous teaching and learning

• “Capacity building”: Can address an issue or build the community, organization, school, or agency over time, its ability to achieve its mission, and its resource base

• “Evidence”: Involves integration of evidence-based or proven program models or research

• “Impact”: Aims to identify and achieve specific and measurable outcomes, design strategies for evaluation, and find ways to document and show long-term (qualitative and quantitative) impacts

Moving towards

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Resources and Scholarship:During the meeting and through a shared dropbox (which we will email you), we will distribute a number of articles and readings that may be helpful to your efforts to deepen and enhance civic and community engagement. Additionally, we invite your contributions to a growing bibliography.

These five articles, starred below, may be referenced by presenters.

★" Association of American Colleges and Universities (2015). The LEAP challenge: Education for a world of unscripted problems. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

- Click here to read more and order free copies to share with others"★" Keen, C., & Hall, K. (2009). Engaging with difference matters: Longitudinal student outcomes of co-

curricular service-learning programs. The Journal of Higher Education, 80 (1), 59-79.

★" Musil, C. M. (2009). Educating students for personal and social responsibility: The civic learning spiral. In Jacoby, B. & Associates. Civic engagement in higher education, 49-68.

★" Saltmarsh, J., Hartley, M. and Clayton, P.H. (2009). Democratic Engagement White Paper. Boston, MA: New England Resource Center for Higher Education.

★" Sturm, S., Eatman, T., Saltmarsh, J., and Bush, A. (2011). Full participation: Building the architecture for diversity and community engagement in higher education. Boston, MA: New England Resource Center for Higher Education.

Additional Literature: AASCU Task Force on Public Engagement (2002). Stepping forward as stewards of place: A guide for leading public engagement at state colleges and universities. Washington, DC: American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Behrend, K.E., and Darr, S. (2013). “One partnership, one place”: Building and scaling sustained student led, community driven international partnerships. In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways, 119-131. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Blissman, B. (2013). Wisdom from the garden: Exploring faculty transformation. In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways, 155-168. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Brownell, J.E., and Swaner, L.E. (2010). Five high-impact practices: Research on learning outcomes, completion and quality. Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Cochrane, A. and Schill, H. (2013). Learning through service: Structures that promote student leadership. In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways, 29-40. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Burkhardt, J., & Pasque, P. A. (2005). Academic leadership for the civic engagement movement. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 11(2), 61.

Please feel free to recommend and add other resources in our dropbox! Many of these 30 articles are relevant not only to the themes of this meeting but to the ongoing practice of campus-community engagement and learning. Several campuses have successfully used reading groups.

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Creighton, S. (2008). Significant findings in campus-community engagement: Community partner perspective. Journal for Civic Commitment, 10.

Ellis, R. and Hart, K. (2013). “If you build it, they will come”: Building a structure for institutional change. In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways, 199-210. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Finley, A., and McNair, T. (2013). Assessing high-impact learning for underserved students. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Freeman, E., Gust, S., & Aloshen, D. (2009). Why faculty promotion and tenure matters to community partners. Metropolitan Universities Journal, 20(2), 87-103.

Hackett, R. and Donohue, P. (2013). A growing edge for community engagement: Policy and partnership networks. In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways, 105-118. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hoy, A. and Johnson, M. (2013). Future possibilities: Towards high-impact community engagement. In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways, 273-82. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hoy, A. and Meisel, W. (2008). Civic engagement at the center: Building democracy through integrated curricular and cocurricular experiences. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.

Hurtado, S. Ruiz, A. and Whang, H. (2012). Advancing and assessing civic learning: New results from the diverse learning environments survey. Diversity & Democracy. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.

Hutchinson, G.F. (2015). Interdisciplinary public scholarship, economic empowerment, and community empowerment. Diversity & Democracy. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.

Kuh, G.D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.

Langseth, M. N., & McVeety, C. S. (2007). Engagement as a core university leadership position and advancement strategy: Perspectives from an engaged institution. International Journal of Educational Advancement, 7(2), 117-130.

O'Meara, K., Lounder, A. and Hodges, A. (2013). University leaders' use of episodic power to support faculty community engagement. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 5-20.

Musil, C.M. (2015). Civic prompts: Making civic learning routine across the disciplines. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.

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Nugent, G. (2015). The liberal arts in action: Past, present, and future. Washington, DC: Council of Independent Colleges.

Plater, W. M. (2004). Civic engagement, service-learning, and intentional leadership. Public work & the academy: An academic administrator’s guide to civic engagement and service-learning, 1-22.

Presley, J.W. (2011). Chief Academic Officers and community-engaged faculty work. In Saltmarsh, J., & Hartley, M. (Eds.). (2011). "To serve a larger purpose": Engagement for democracy and the transformation of higher education. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Roncolato, D. (2013). Building deep partnerships and community-centered centers. In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways (273-82). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Rosenberg, B. (2013). The Liberal Arts College Unbound. In R. Chopp, S. Frost, and D. Weiss (Eds.) Remaking college: Innovation and the liberal arts. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Sandmann, L. R., & Plater, W. M. (2009). Leading the engaged institution. New Directions for Higher Education, 147, 13-24.

Saltmarsh, J. (2015). A collaborative turn: Trends and directions in community engagement. In J. Sachs and L. Clark (Eds). (forthcoming 2015) Learning through community engagement: Vision and practice in higher education.

Saltmarsh, J. Warren, M.R., Kruger-Henney, P., Rivera, L., Fleming, R.K., Friedman, D.H., and Uriarte, M. (2015). Creating an academic culture that supports community-engaged scholarship. Diversity and Democracy. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Schadewald, P and Aguilar-San Juan, K. (2013). Developing faculty for community engagement across the curriculum. In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways, 133-144. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement. A crucible moment: Civic learning and democracy’s future. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities, 2012.

Welch, M. and Saltmarsh, J. (2013). Best practices and infrastructures for campus centers of community engagement In A. Hoy & M. Johnson (Eds.), Deepening community engagement in higher education: Forging new pathways, 183-198. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Additional Literature:

In case you need any information or need to contact someone on Allegheny College’s campus:

911 (any major emergency)

Campus Security (please use in any emergency).(814) 332-3100

Office of Civic Engagement (814) 332-5318

David Roncolato, Director of Civic Engagement (cell phone)(814) 573-9340

A note about space, parking, and transportation

• We begin with registration and all-conference events in the Tippie Alumni Center, located on campus. It is building #26 on the map and close to Main Street.

• Parking is limited on campus, but you may park in any Gold Lot.

• Shuttle service between the Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn and Allegheny College will begin at 2:45 pm on Monday, September 21, making loops every half hour. Shuttles back to hotels will resume after the evening programming is done.

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Logistics and Important Numbers

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Notes

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Notes

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Notes

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The Last Word: Student Reflection

When I first enrolled at Lindsey Wilson College, I had decided to be a psychophysiology major so that if I ended up wanting to go to dental school I could. At this point though it was more me telling myself “you should go to dental school because it’s prestigious and other people think you should.” Which is an incredibly stupid reason to want to base a life-altering or life-deciding decision on.

When I came to college, I didn’t enjoy my science classes and would only apply myself enough to get by. By the end of my first semester of my junior year I had basically given up on the whole dental school thing. I just couldn’t see challenging myself for an additional four years to pursue a career and rack up a ton of debt I wasn’t even sure I wanted. I had made up my mind that I was going to work at a non-profit and help change the world in that way, because the way I saw it I could either a) be a good and successful dentist or b) I could continue my work as a servant leader.

Senior year, my time working in a clinic for refugee young women in Romania definitely changed my mind again. As I was working in the clinic I began to realize how much I love dentistry. Every time I have shadowed a dentist in the U.S., I haven’t really been able to “do anything” other than just observe (which kind of inhibited my ability to decide on this career path as well). So this week was a very refreshing change. Two distinctive “flashlight moments” happened while serving in the clinic; they happened while I was assisting two of my girls from the Home of Hope’s procedures. Yet I knew that everything else in my journey led up to that moment.

The first occurred when I was helping with Alexdrina’s extraction. I could tell she was extremely scared of everything; even when Dr. Mark was just looking around with his mirror and explorer. Even that was terrifying for her and she started to get the nervous shakes. I did my best to try to reassure her it would be okay but I realized I needed to love on her and try and make her as comfortable as possible. So while Dr. Mark was applying the topical numbing gel I was talking to her and telling her that if it hurt she could squeeze my hand as hard as she wanted to distract herself. So when I handed him the syringe she started getting really nervous and then she looked at the needle and started to tear up. I grabbed both of her hands and started talking to her and joking with her while Dr. Mark gave the injection. And then Alexdrina’s started laughing at me while receiving an injection. She had a huge smile on her face while she faced her fears and I couldn’t have been more proud and happy for her.

My next “mom moment” was with Aurelia, one of my older girls, as she was having several fillings done. I was just walking to check in on all of the kids whenever I wasn’t with a patient. As soon as Aurelia saw me she reached out and grabbed my hand and started squeezing with all of her might. I sat with her for the remainder of her treatment asking her if she was okay. Anytime she would squeeze super hard I would ask her if she was in pain or just uncomfortable. As the procedure went on she slowly got more comfortable with what he was doing. This was the moment that I really knew that I did want to be a dentist. I feel like serving in the clinic helped me to develop a greater love of my future career and prepared me on how to interact with my future patients.

I’ve graduated now, and this coming year (after finishing up a year as a graduate assistant in career services and supporting the Bonner Program), I’ll be going back to Romania to pursue my dream.

~ Lauren Kinser, Bonner graduate of

Lindsey-Wilson College (2015)

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