Dear Bonner students and staff,
My name is Kelly Behrend, a Bonner Scholar at the University of Richmond. Firstly, thank you for your hard work in continuing to to do meaningful service in your communities. As a Bonner Scholar myself, I know the work and dedication that it takes and I truly thank you.
After surveying the network and speaking with many of you, it was evident that there was a lack of resources for supporting Bonners in finding sustainable, meaningful, and effective placements abroad.
In response to these concerns, I am pleased to introduce to you a series of handbooks aimed at helping our Bonners expand their service experiences from the local to the global.
These manuals seek to provide Bonner staff, students, and international service partners with resources to make effective placements that meet the needs of the international service partner, consider the development of the student, and bring students’ previous experiences with local issues into focus with a global perspective.
It is because of my personal experience abroad that I am so passionate about helping other Bonners to go and experience the world in new ways. I spent my junior year abroad in the Basque Country of northern Spain in the fall of 2008 and in Northern Ireland in the spring of 2009. I continued my Bonner service in both regions.
It all began with my traditional service site at Refugee & Immigration Services of Richmond, where I serve as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher. Working with those individuals inspired me to go and investigate refugee issues in new contexts.
In Spain, I took classes on human rights and terrorism and continued my Bonner service by teaching Spanish as a Second Language (SSL) to immigrants from Morocco and Algeria. In the spring of 2009, I served as a journalist and community organizer for a local refugee and immigrant support center in Northern Ireland while studying human security and peace studies.
These experiences have enabled me to view my traditional service in new contexts and have inspired me to continue studying refugee policy beyond my undergraduate education. As of now, I am aiming to get a doctorate degree in Human Security Studies with a special focus in Refugee Policy. And I’m proud to say that it’s all because of the Bonner scholarship.
All of that said, I experienced many challenges in arranging and managing my service abroad. Finding sites and serving in new cultural and social contexts was quite difficult. For example, it was hard to find community partners that could support my work 10 hours per week. I also encountered many intercultural issues that I wish I would have been better prepared for. Yet, I had an amazing experience abroad that has truly changed my perspective, deepened my passions, and broadened my future opportunities. It is because of these struggles and successes that I am so passionate in helping Bonners serve abroad. That is why I decided to create the following manuals:
The first in the series is the student manual, the Service Abroad Handbook (Service Abroad Handbook.pdf), which is designed to give students tools and tips on studying and serving abroad. It also includes links to important resources, as well as stories from Bonners who have done it themselves. Be sure to download this document from the link below and e-mail or print the handbook to give to interested Bonners. It may be best to have a printed copy available in your office to get students interested.
The second manual is the Service Partner Guide (Service Partner Guide.pdf), which serves as an Introduction of the Bonner Program to an International Service Partner. I encourage you to read through that handbook as well, which you should recommend that students take with them when they go abroad. It is a great way for potential service partners to better understand the Bonner Program and even includes a CLA workbook for students to get started on their CLA with their new site supervisor abroad. Again, you can view and print the handbook from the link below.
The final manual, the Administrator's Resource Guide (Administrator's Guide.pdf), provides Bonner administrators with materials and best practices gathered from around the network to help guide students through the process of serving abroad.
Also browse through the International Partner Directory (click here to view), which consists of multiple listings of where Bonners have previously served abroad. Please add your own!
Be sure to check out the online version of all of these manuals, spread out along this wiki. We hope that you will contribute to these pages to create live information from schools across the network. You can also download the PDF versions from the Service Abroad main page.
As always, the Bonner Foundation is here to help. Give us a call at (609) 924-6663 if you’d like any additional information like service ideas, best practices, or examples of what other students have done in the past.
Thank you for all the work you do and good luck as you explore new opportunities abroad. Do good and serve well, my fellow Bonners! Best of luck to each of you.
Kelly Behrend
Bonner Foundation Summer Intern 2009
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