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Washington and Lee University-2009 Annual Report2009 ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES Please add narrative text that responds to the questions in the four categories below.
Implementation of Student DevelopmentWhat was the structure and content for the implementation of the developmental model this year? In particular, please share (no more than one page text needed):
We generally held Bonner Program meetings twice per month. The vast majority of our meetings were held for "multiple levels." Because we are a two-year program, there is less need to separate the meetings by classes (though we did when particular trainings or planning - e.g. BWBRS or First-year trip/Second-Year Exchange - were needed). Additionally, we have found that it's a good community building initiative to hold the majority of our meetings for multiple levels as doing so allows different classes to get to know each other, share ideas, experiences, etc. Most Bonner meetings were organized around different Common Commitments, with guest speakers coming to share/facilitate many of the meetings: retired law professor Uncas McThenia spoke about his experience in various Social Justice efforts; Professor Ted DeLaney spoke about his long-term experiences in the Lexington area and his work in community building as related to diversity; Mayor Mimi Elrod and Councilman David Cox spoke about civic engagement; and visiting Professor Ahmed Khalid discussed Poverty and Pakistan, providing us with an international perspective of poverty. We also had a good student-led group discussion about one student's attendance at a Sojourners conference about spiritual exploration and its relation to service.
Our First-Year Service Trip was particularly exciting, enjoyable and successful. Ten of the first-year Bonner Leaders and the Bonner coordinator spent spring break (in April) working in New Orleans, La. We stayed and ate at the Annunciation Mission, a church that has a wonderful commitment to service and community (re)building. Through Annunciation and a Presbyterian rebuilding group, our students roofed, painted, nailed, put in windows, and did other work on homes, as well as meeting the homeowners of the houses where we worked. Students also were given various tours and information sessions from Mission and its rebuilding team staff, which provided great educational information and context for the service work we performed. Finally, students also had the chance to have dinner with W&L alumni for two evenings, and heard stories from them about NOLA and their Katrina experiences. The first-year Bonners also had a chance to share with the alumni (who were very appreciative) stories and information about the service work they were doing.
Our second-year service exchange was a planned home improvement project in Glasgow, Va. with student-cadets from Virginia Military Institute, as well as two students from Lynchburg College. At the last minute the Lynchburg College students were unable to participate. Shared meals and other discussion time were also planned for students from the different institutions to communicate about service and any other related topic. The painting project for the day ended up being rained out, but the W&L and VMI students nevertheless spent valuable time together discussing service, college life, and community engagement. (W&L students are returning on a later weekend to do the actual service project, but VMI and Lynchburg are already on summer break).
Upperclass students (our second-year Bonners) took a variety of leadership roles. Eric Hamscher ('11) served as the Bonner senior intern and helped in a variety of ways, particularly with organizing and planning the First-Year service trip. Allie Long ('11) took the lead on organizing the Second-Year Exchange, and Cozy Dube ('10) was primarily responsible for our Bonner Campus Profile Video (and is interested in taking the lead on more videos in the future). Additionally, other students served as unofficial mentors to younger Bonners, sharing their experiences, successes, and challenges/failures with the younger Bonners.
The Senior Capstone is something we need to implement in a more organized and streamlined manner. While upperclass Bonners did share their experiences and work in unofficial manners at meetings and in discussions, we did not have the formal senior presentations that we'd hoped to organize.
The primary area in which our students engaged in Serve 2.0 activity was in producing the FlipCam video. Other students have discussed expanding our Bonner Program blog and/or implementing a Facebook site. We already have plans to expand our use of technology to enhance how Bonners reflect on their service (e.g. blog-based reflection, videos about service projects, etc.). Implementation of Community PartnershipsPlease share a summary of your work with community partners, highlighting your work regarding (no more than one page text needed):
Our relationships with community partners have remained strong and, in some cases, have been strengthened over the past year. During our new Bonner orientation, we invited the director of a local senior center where some of our Bonners serve to give a presentation to the new Bonners. This was a successful and helpful conversation, as it allowed Bonners to learn not just about her agency but about the relationships Bonners have with community partners in general. Additionally, through phone conversations, emails and personal meetings, the Coordinator and Bonner students have engaged in strategic planning with various community partners to improve the quality of service and leadership offered by Bonners, as well as the service-learning experience for Bonners at these agencies.
We attempt to use all the students' service experience at community agencies as co-curricular education experiences. Students are advised to work at particular partner agencies based on their academic interests and vocational plans. Partners are invited not to just put the Bonners to work, but also to advise and educate them about the social issues surrounding the area in which they are serving.
We have still not fully implemented site-based or issue-oriented teams, as (given the size and nature of our program and University) we haven't felt that a strictly organized site/issue teams would be the most effective way to serve the community or educate our students. That said, where student interests or community need have allowed it, some partnerships have included informal site and issue-based service and learning. The best example of this is our partnership with the Natural Bridge Juvenile Correctional Center, where at least three students serve regularly and cooperate with each other in various ways. These students have engaged in direct service together, as well communicated with each other, with agency staff, and with the Bonner Coordinator about how to serve with the partner more fruitfully. One result of these conversations have been the development of a "life skills training curriculum" for soon to be released young men at this facility.
The Shepherd Poverty Program held a learning "Institute" for local community agencies and citizens-at-large that grew out of the Poverty Assessment undertaken by our Community-Based Research office. While the two students who wrote this study were not Bonners, the CBR intern who initially envisioned the Institute and helped organize was a Bonner is now a Bonner alumna. A current Bonner may succeed her as CBR intern, and various Bonner Leaders participated in some ways in the Institute.
Campus-Wide Culture and InfrastructurePlease describe key activities and structures related to the development of campus-wide infrastructure and the role of the Bonner Program in enhancing (or being enhanced by) campus-wide culture and participation in service. In particular, share (no more than one page text needed):
The Shepherd Poverty Program provides a primary academic connection for all of our Bonner Leaders. Not all Bonner Leaders choose to pursue a minor in poverty studies, but many do. Additionally, Bonners are not required to participate in the Shepherd Program, but this year all have elected to (or plan to) take at least the 101 Introduction to Poverty class. This connection with the curricular parts of the Shepherd Program has greatly benefited our Bonner Program. However, Shepherd-specific classes are not the only academic connection with our Bonner Program. Two cooperations especially merit mention: (1) Economics Professor Art Goldsmith brought in Pakistani native Professor Ahmed Khalid for teaching and lecturing duties in winter 2009, and he immediately contacted the Bonner Coordinator to set up a time when Ahmed could speak directly with the Bonners; (2) We have written a letter in support of a grant submitted by Biology Professor Fiona Watson, at her request, that would provide funding for an innovative water-quality project that also engages at-risk high school students with educational opportunity and support. Dr. Watson plans to utilize Bonner Leaders to help with her project.
We have worked closely with a variety of other department and offices this year to strengthen our Bonner Program. A few examples:
1) We've cooperated with Burr Datz and the Office of Leadership Development. Burr provided team building and leadership training for the new Bonner orientation, as well as offering leadership seminars (offered to the whole University), throughout the year.
2) We have also cooperated very closely with the Financial Aid Office to implement a system that provides better financial support to our Bonner Leaders. Specifically, Bonner Leaders at W&L now (starting with the new class that began its terms in January 2009) receive hourly work-study wages for all their local direct service (as opposed to the tuition grants that we previously utilized).
3) Additionally, we have also cooperated with the Admissions office to find better ways to recruit (to W&L in general and the Bonner Program in particular) students from families with demonstrated financial need.
4) Finally, we have cooperated with the Alumni Office to engage members of alumni chapters where we visit for alternative Breaks. Through the Alumni Office, we invited the New Orleans alumni chapter to attend an informal dinner during the First-Year Alternative Break trip. Multiple alumni attended, and our Bonner students had a chance to share about their Bonner experience and their service in the alumni's home community.
Serve 2.0Please highlight your key activities related to the integration of web-based tools as they are connected to the design, management, and outreach for service. In particular, share (no more than one page text needed):
-Shepherd Program website: http://www.wlu.edu/x12034.xml. This site provides the overall picture of the Shepherd Program, with links to all related service-learning, civic engagement and co-curriculal service opportunities. Current students who are part of the Shepherd Program, prospective students, and current students who are not currently involved in the Shepherd Program visit here.
-Bonner Program at Washington and Lee website (work in progress): http://www.wlu.edu/x21524.xml. Provides the basic information about the W&L Bonner Program. Can be visited by current Bonner students and by all other students, especially those who may be interested in joining the Bonner Program.
-Bonner Program at W&L blog (work in progress): http://wlubonnerleaders.wordpress.com. We are most interested in pursing this site further. Current Bonners and prospective Bonners are/would be the primary users. It provides the easiest opportunity to quickly load and update information, without having to go through University IT. Videos, text, updates can be easily loaded directly by the Coordinator or Bonner students.
We have successfully loaded our first video through the Bonner Video Project onto YouTube, the Bonner wiki, the Shepherd Program website, and the W&L Bonner blog. We have raw footage for future videos and will produce more soon. We do not, at this time, see the need for Twitter or Ning given the nature of our campus. We are looking into using blogs for reflection and using Facebook to increase levels of communication and program promotion.
Campus Issue ProfilesAdd links to your completed or draft campus issue profiles here:
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