2010 Survey Findings

We already knew from our Student Impact Survey that the Bonner Program has a long-lasting impact on individual commitment to social justice. The study continually shows that this commitment often translates to alumni community involvement after college. 

To learn even more about our alumni, we celebrated our 20th anniversary by organizing the first large-scale Bonner Alumni Survey.  The feedback we received was tremendous and the findings very significant.  In the process, we received contact information for over 3,000 alumni.  A total of 1,054 alumni responded to the survey, for a 32% response rate. 

Below you can find some of the preliminary findings from our survey: 

Profile of Respondents

• represented 24 schools
• are evenly distributed across the 20 years
• women represented 71% of the respondents 
• 78% were white, 11% African-American.  
• 46% had received MS or MAs and 17% had terminal degrees, with many planning for a terminal degree. 

Key Findings

• Many had done a year of full-time service after graduation: 
• 10% had done a year of service with a faith based group 
• 8% served with AmeriCorps sponsored year-of-service programs
• 2% worked with Teach for America  
• A remarkable 31% work in the government sector and 34% in the nonprofit sector. 
• The largest employment group is teachers (24%)
• 33% responded that the Bonner Program gave them advantage in finding a job and/or influenced the career they chose.
• 90% voted in the last November election (much higher than the national average for their age group).  
• 78% had volunteered in the last 12 months.  
• 50% attended in the last year a public meeting in which there was discussion of community affairs and worked with others to fix or improve their neighborhood. 
• Aspects of college that most contributed to their professional identity and career goals were academic coursework, long term service, work in the community, and internships.
• Reflection experiences in college were mostly likely to help them clarify personal values and understand diverse perspectives, from a list of 10 outcomes.  

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