Student Development

 

Bonners at Rhodes grow through their four years along the Bonner Developmental Model. Through the unique learning environment formed by a community  of students committed to service, the resources of community partners and the utilization of unique cultural institutions in Memphis, we move students from compassion and idealism to a mature and sustained commitment to people and issues in the world.

 

First Year: Exploration

A program orientation held prior to the start of the freshman year includes:

• Welcome dinner with parents and families
• Icebreakers and team builders
• Overview of the Bonner Program and the Bonner Foundation
• Scholarship requirements
• Introduction to service opportunities

• Introduction to Rhodes faculty members and service learning

• Entering Student Survey

Freshman class weekly meetings on topics including

• Opportunities within the service community
• Memphis and its communities
• Diversity
• Time Management
• Personality Assessments
• Social justice and citizenship
• Personal values and consensus building

*Optional meetings will include:

• Kinney service programming
• Memphis service programming
• Other training and enrichment opportunities

• Participate in Service Reflection groups

Other Meetings:

• One-on-one meetings with program staff member held twice a semester
• Choose a primary service site by the end of the academic year
• Shadow older Scholars at service sites

 

Second Year: Experience

• Sophomore Workshops are held each semester on leadership topics and how they relate to service commitment.  Topics include Advocacy, the Social Change Model and Reflective Leadership.
• Main hours and projects are focused on a particular area or service site
• Participate in trainings specific to scholar’s work at primary service site in order to develop skills and receive certifications that are necessary
• Advisory committee composed of faculty member, community partner representative, Bonner staff member meet once per semester to evaluate progress.
• Invite new Scholars to shadow at primary service site.

 

Third Year: Action and Research

• Programs on career and vocation including:
  • Career planning
  • Developing a personal mission statement of life-long service learning
• Take a leadership position at service sites and/or campus organizations
• Participate in internships that relate to primary areas of service
• Invite new Scholars to shadow at primary service site

 

Fourth Year: Application and Analysis

• Senior Dinners are held each semester with the featured speaker being an individual who has made a significant impact within their community.

• Seniors will spend time reflecting.  Their activities will include:

o Writing letters to influential people in their lives

o Presentation of learning and community impact

• Complete an Exit Survey
• Continue to hold campus and community leadership positions
• Share experiences and expertise with younger Scholars

 

 

Implementation of Community Partnerships

 

In an effort to coordinate the efforts at Rhodes between The Bonner Center for Faith and Service, the Kinney Program, The Office of Leadership Programs, Career Services and the Community-Service Work-Study Program, we co-hosted a Community Partnership Building Event on January 10, 2008. We had two primary aims. First, we sought to recognize the significant learning that takes place for our students who are applying their learning through volunteer, work and internship opportunities at Memphis non-profits. Second, we wanted to clearly explain the variety of experiences we offer to our students and encourage our community partners to submit a proposal for consideration with the opportunities available at each non-profit.  Our proposal process was streamlined so that our partners only need to fill out one application and specify which opportunities (work-study, for credit internship, paid internship, summer opportunity, etc.) they have available.

 

While our partners were gathered, we also distributed our Community Partners Handbook.  This handbook contains the following helpful information:

·         The Student Development Model explaining a placement opportunity at levels 1-4, in accordance with the Bonner model.

·         List of skills students should develop at placements

·         Above Suspicion Policy

·         Informed Consent Guide

·         Guide to Handling Problems

·         Explanation of a Community Learning Agreement

·         Volunteer Retention Tips

·         Student Performance Evaluation

 

This was our first year to create a handbook, to streamline our intake of information from our community partners, and to invite partners on campus for networking and conversation. This will become an annual event, and will take place again at the beginning of the spring semester.

 

 Campus-Wide Culture and Infrastructure

 

The Bonner Center at Rhodes, which includes the Kinney Program, The Bonner Scholars, Chaplain's Office and Office of Community Service, serves as the primary link between the College and the many community projects that define the dynamic city/campus relationship.

 

Connection of Community-Based Learning to the Rhodes Vision

 

Community-based learning and engagement are fundamental to the Rhodes Vision, which states the college’s desire to “graduate students with…a compassion for others, and the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world.” In addition, Imperative 3 (Student Engagement) articulates a commitment “to enhance student opportunities for learning in Memphis.” More than 80% of Rhodes students engage in some form of community service while they are at the college, and Rhodes has nearly 100 formal partnershipswith community organizations that provide internship, learning and volunteer opportunities for our students. This compliance report considers both curricular and co-curricular service opportunities, which are all recognized as community-based learning at Rhodes.

 

Types of Community Service

 

Many community partnerships at Rhodes center on student research. The St. Jude Summer Plus Program, for example, engages undergraduate students in intense research for a summer plus an academic year. The Rhodes Institute for Regional Studies supports students performing research projects on civic issues relevant to Memphis and the Mid-South region in collaboration with places like the Ames Plantation and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

 

Leadership is integrated into community engagement primarily through the Kinney Program for Service and Social Action. The primary driver of student volunteerism at Rhodes, the Kinney Program is led by ten student coordinators who are each responsible for a particular area of service. In addition, many Rhodes students have taken the initiative to start new service programs through frameworks like the Learning Corridor, the Rhodes Hollywood Springdale Partnership, and other programs. Leadership training is also an integral part of community-based fellowship programs like the Bonner Scholars Program and the Center for Outreach in the Development of the Arts (CODA).

 

Rhodes offers a very wide array of academic, for-credit internships. Most of them are offered in partnership with a local business, organization, or agency, although international and out-of-town opportunities also exist. In all academic internships, students are given the opportunity to do real work at the operating locations of the community partners. Additionally, the students engage in reflective activities and receive 400-level academic credit from any of a number of academic departments. Approximately 60% of Rhodes students participate in some form of internships.

In addition, the Rhodes Student Associates Program (RSAP) provides 60 students each year with enhanced employment opportunities working under specifically chosen campus supervisors. Because their work is valuable and meaningful to both the student and the college, students learn to move from theory to practice while honing job skills, exploring career options and earning income to finance their college education.

 

Community engagement is integral to the Rhodes Foundations Curriculum. Foundation 11 (“F11”) states that students must be able to “participate in activities that broaden connections between the classroom and the world.” Each course in the college catalogue lists what degree requirements that course fulfills, including those that fulfill the F11 requirement.

 

Recognizing the community engagement aspect of many courses was a motivating factor in moving to the Foundations Curriculum. Based on the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement data, approximately 15-20% of our courses already have a community-based dimension, and data from the 2006 Faculty Survey of Student Engagement indicate that approximately 14% of our faculty make a community-based project a part of one or more courses that they teach.

 

Based partly on the success of the Bonner Scholars in the development of students as servant-leaders, Rhodes is developing the Scholarships to Fellowships (S2F) program campus-wide. This innovative approach to student growth will involve a structured four-year experience which integrates classroom learning with collaborative projects with a communtiy of students around common interests.

 

 A fellowship is an honor and an opportunity. Fellows engage in activities outside the classroom that enhance their strengths, complement and support their study of the liberal arts, and contribute to the larger community. Mentored reflection on the connection between the fellowship activity and the student’s broader educational aims is central to a successful fellowship. 

 

Students receiving financial aid in the form of fellowships have the opportunity to fully invest themselves through internships, community service, study abroad, and/or independent or collaborative research. These beyond-the-classroom learning opportunities contribute to students’ enhancing their strengths, affirming their future aspirations, and inspiring others to find their passions. They allow students to connect classroom and experiential learning in ways that contribute to their success beyond graduation.