Clay C. Grego

Allegheny College

Bonner Scholar

Clay C. Grego is a rising senior at Allegheny College with a major in English Literature and double-minoring in Latin American & Caribbean Studies and Spanish Language.  His home town is Erie in the state of Pennsylvania. Clay's primary service site is the Crawford County Area Agency on Aging, Active Aging, Inc, where he works with senior citizens age 60 and older and his passion is providing this population with fun and creative ways to engage in a multitude of recreational activities at our center, on Allegheny College campus, and in the community of Meadville.  In addition to this, Clay's work is comprised of providing these same seniors with access to healthcare, housing, and a number of other social services.  His career goal would be to serve as the President of a Liberal Arts college.  Clay is looking forward to applying graduate schools in the Fall, with the intent to earn a masters in education that emphasizes diversity and inclusion/social justice in education.  From there, he plans to look for work in the field and continue to pursue a PhD in educational leadership.

Clay's leadership role for this project will be the Bonner Global Conference Facilitator, designing the program curriculum and facilitating various sessions.

Other fun facts:

• What was the last movie you saw? Bridesmaids
• What is the song you'll be jamming to on the plane? Rack City 
• What are you looking forward to learning? I am looking forward to learning about how Peacework plans to engage their philosophy (and Bonners too) in Orange Walk, Belize. My ongoing research deals with problematizing the North American presence in Latin American, and so, I am eager to see whether or not our work and collaboration allies with a more institutionally beneficial civic engagement, a developmentally problematic, or a combination of the two (which is what I suspect).
• What is your vision for the Bonner Global Village Network? I hope that the Bonner Global Village Network will function more as a cultural exchange in which a Global Village Network is also founded in the US to facilitate equal distribution of US-Belize visitation. Otherwise, a one-sided relationship will only lead to a problematic relationship. Nevertheless, the work we are doing this summer is a very important step to forging these connections.

Sarah Harrison

University of Richmond

Bonner Scholar

Sarah Harrison is a New Jersey native and a rising senior at the University of Richmond, where she is a double-major in Accounting and History. Her primary service site is with Henderson Middle School, where she provides academic mentoring and personal development opportunities for youth. Her immediate career goal is to work for an accounting firm, but her long-term goal would be to work within a nonprofit organization. Sarah says that her service work has shown her the many obstacles that the education system faces, and she looks forward to exploring that in the Belizian context.

Sarah's leadership role for this project will be the Bonner Global Conference Facilitator, assisting in the facilitation of the various sessions and leading team-building activities.

Other fun facts:

• What was the last movie you saw? The Avengers
• What song will you be jamming to on the plane? Dance With Me Tonight by Olly Murs
• What are you looking forward to learning on this trip?  How the education systems in Belize and the US differ, and what they might be able to learn from each other. I also am interested in what is important to the children there in terms of their learning.
• What is your vision for the Bonner Global Village Network? I envision it as a network of college students who have the passion and drive to help expand education and enhance community building in other areas across the globe.

Meghan Helmbrecht

College of St. Benedict

Bonner Leader

Meghan Helmbrecht is a Theology major at the College of Saint Benedict in Minnestota, which is also her home state. She serves with the Discovery Elementary School as an America Reads tutor, mentoring one-on-one and with small groups to improve literacy and math skills in her campus-community. Meghan is also very passionate about homelessness, women's rights, and food security. Her career goals are in the field of Social Work, potentially as a high school guidance counselor.

Meghan's leadership role for this project will be the Logistics Coordinator, working with our partner organization Peacework to ensure that the project runs smoothly and to provide recommendations for next year's trip

Other fun facts:

• What was the last movie you saw? 21 Jump Street
• What is the song you'll be jamming to on the plane? Songs by Young the Giant
• What are you looking forward to learning? Belizian Culture.
• What is your vision for the Bonner Global Village Network?  I hope it is a sustainable project, one that impacts and empowers the Belizean people and their community in a positive way.

Tracie Johnson

Ursinus College

Bonner Leader

Tracie Johnson is a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a rising senior at Ursinus College, majoring in Philosophy and Media and Communications with a minor in Spanish. She serves at a food pantry in Norristown, Pennsylvania provided by Catholic Social Services.  Tracie looks forward to coordinating an ESL program next year, where students of Ursinus will help teach English to members of the Ursinus staff whose native is Spanish.  She aspires to become a constitutional lawyer serving those who are underprivileged and underrepresented, as well as a journalist uncovering injustices both domestic and abroad. Before retirement, Tracie sees herself becoming a a college Professor of Applied Ethics.

Tracie's leadership role for this project will be the Social Media Specialist, creating a series of documentaries on the trip to share with the Bonner Network and beyond.

Other fun facts:

• What was the last movie you saw? Think Like a Man
• What is the song you'll be jamming to on the plane? Shake it Out - Florence and the Machine
• What are you looking forward to learning? I am looking for to a cultural experience where I can learn about the lives and customs of others, hoping to help in any way that I can.
• What is your vision for the Bonner Global Village Network? My vision to establish a great foundation for the Bonner Global Village Network. Our jobs is to do the on the ground research and figure out ways to make this a healthy partnership servicing the youth of Orange Walk, Belize.

Amelia Lumpkin

Davidson College

Bonner Scholar 

Amelia Lumpkin is a rising senior, studying for a Theatre major and  Arabic minor at Davidson College in her home state of North Carolina. As a Bonner, she have served as a tutor for elementary school students at a local community center, interviewed neighbors in need of help with rent and utility expenses with Crisis Assistance Ministries and worked on community-based theatre projects on issues ranging from nutrition to bullying. During the summers, Amelia has traveled abroad to Syria and Nicaragua to do service with L'Arche and Amigos de las Americas. Amelia is most passionate about service that involved identity, multilingual communication and art for social justice. She spent the Spring 2012 semester in Bolivia, where Amelia says she "was blessed with the opportunity to work collaboratively alongside Afro-Bolivian musicians to create a play touching issues important to their community". In the future, Amelia hopes to be able to continue working with theatre engaged with communities.

Amelia's leadership role for this project will be the Bonner Global Village Network Sustainability Analyst, creating an analysis report for the Bonner Network on strategies for implementing this project around the world, focused on challenges and opportunities recorded in terms of curriculum, logistics, impact, and the overall experience.

Other fun facts:

• What was the last movie you saw? I can't remember, but the last TV show I Netflixed was Switched at Birth.
• What is the song you'll be jamming to on the plane? I Need A Dollar
• What are you looking forward to learning? I am excited to learn about how Bonner arrived at this idea of a Global Village Network as well as what resources we will be able to offer Bonners that travel abroad. I am most excited to learn through doing with the collaborative creation of the curriculum.
• What is your vision for the Bonner Global Village Network? I would love this set of partnerships to be another place for the mission and vision of Bonner to manifest itself. I would love to see Bonner spread its impact in a responsible way throughout different regions of our world.

Jenna Moehring

University of Richmond

Bonner Scholar 

A North Carolina native, Jenna Moehring is a rising senior at the University of Richmond majoring in Accounting with a minor in Spanish. Through her Bonner service, Jenna volunteers at Boaz & Ruth, a non-profit that works with previously incarcerated individuals helping them successfully reenter society while simultaneously improving the neighborhood in which it is located. Boaz & Ruth is a perfect combination of two issues that she says she is interested in — reducing the recidivism rate and promoting social businesses/entrepreneurship. After graduation, Jenna hopes to work as a public accountant at first and then one day start her own social enterprise.

Jenna's leadership role for this project will be the Curriculum Specialist, surveying the curriculum's impact and cultural relevance through engaging all key stakeholders (like teachers, students, staff, and Bonner facilitators) in various assessment and evaluation activities to inform the implementation of this project in the future.

Other fun facts:

• What was the last movie you saw? The Help
• What is the song you'll be jamming to on the plane? Songs by Eric Church
• What are you looking forward to learning? I am looking forward to learning more about microfinance as well as meeting other Bonners from across the United States.
• What is your vision for the Bonner Global Village Network? I think that the Bonner Global Village Project has great potential to connect college students from all over and positively impact their views on our “Global Community”.

Nikki Murlo

Ursinus College

Bonner Leader 

Nicole (Nikki) Murlo is a rising Junior at Ursinus College, majoring in Psychology. She serves at a variety of sites but mainly focuses her work at the local food pantry and Headstart programs in Norristown. Nikki's passion is for education and maximizing equal access to a quality education for young people. She is also passionate about resolving hunger, and believes that there are proven ways to do so. In terms of her career goals, she is currently considering a career path in Social Work or Occupational Therapy, connecting her Bonner service and academic studies.

Nikki's leadership role for this project will be the Social Media Specialist, managing all social media outlets that pertain to the trip including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Wordpress.

Other fun facts:

• What was the last movie you saw? The Lucky One
• What is the song you'll be jamming to on the plane? What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction
• What are you looking forward to learning? I'm looking forward to learning more about the lives of children in Belize.
• What is your vision for the Bonner Global Village Network?  I hope that the Bonner Global Village Project in Belize will be a success with minimal confusion or problems. I hope to see that the feedback from this trip will help facilitate future successes and start new programs in other countries. I would like to see our impact here be a domino effect.