Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement

The Bonner Center Welcomes 15 New Community Scholars

An Ecuador orphanage volunteer. A Darfur fundraiser. A volunteer EMT. A Big Brothers Big Sisters advocate. An Eagle Scout with his own official day of service. These are just a few of the extraordinary students from The College of New Jersey’s incoming class of 2012 who will join the College’s Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement as Bonner Community Scholars this year.

The Bonner Center will welcome 15 new Bonner Community Scholars, all from New Jersey, on August 17, when all Bonner students will return to campus for a three-day Bonner orientation. The 15 new students-14 freshmen and one transfer student-are well prepared to join the diverse group of Bonner students who all share a common desire and commitment to work as part of a team of students, staff and community members striving to improve the quality of life in the Trenton area. Here is just a sample of what some of these outstanding students have accomplished before even setting foot on the College campus:

Katrina Wunderlich, a 2007 graduate of Shawnee High School in Medford, took a year off after her high school graduation to volunteer at an orphanage in Ecuador. During high school, she participated in Project NOAH in New Orleans to help rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina, helped to start and maintain a recycling program at her high school, and actively participated in volunteer work at her church and school. Wunderlich almost attended the University of Richmond until she was recruited as a Bonner student and realized the contribution she could make to her community at TCNJ.

Alyssa Brent, a South Brunswick High School graduate from Dayton, raised almost $17,000 for Darfur after organizing a fundraising concert at Woodlot Park in June 2007. She also helped create the South Brunswick High School chapter of the non-profit organization Help Darfur Now and volunteered at Adopt a Family, the Salvation Army and local nursing homes.

Lere Botes, a Morris Hills High School graduate from Rockaway, took action when he learned his high school was shutting down the Big Brothers Big Sisters program as a result of budget cuts. Botes rallied for support to keep the program funded and took the issue to the school board. When the school board couldn’t do anything, he helped continue the program off site by tracking down more than 40 members and arranging a network of people to provide transportation.

Hoboken High School 2008 graduate Kristina Merced has been an active EMT in Hoboken since she was certified EMT-B at the end of her sophomore year. She was also involved with her high school’s National Honor Society and with Heroes and Cool Kids, which trains high school students to mentor middle school students on sportsmanship, conflict resolution and staying tobacco, drug and alcohol-free.

Adam Sferlazzo, a Christian Brothers Academy graduate from Monmouth Beach, is an Eagle Scout who organized 15 volunteers for 300 hours of community service to do landscape work with the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority. He has also done volunteer work at various medical centers, at Habitat for Humanity, and in New Mexico. Sferlazzo is so well known in his community for his service that in 2006 the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders declared June 27 “Adam Sferlazzo Day” for community service. He is also a 2008 Congressional Gold Medal Award recipient.

The 2008-2009 Bonner Scholars, about 65 students in total, will have plenty of volunteer work to contribute to in the upcoming year. The Bonners will once again be organizing and leading Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) Days for all 1300 incoming freshman students throughout the year to help them satisfy the College’s first year civic engagement requirement. The integration between the Bonner program and the freshman CEL experience at the College is what helped the College receive the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction last year.  The College was the only New Jersey institution to receive this award, which is the highest federal recognition for community service.

Additionally, each new Bonner Scholar joins an issue-based service team through which to focus their volunteer efforts.12 teams are already established at the Bonner Center, including ones that focus on health, hunger, homelessness, housing, the environment, and urban education. This year, the Bonners will begin three new programs. The Bonners will start a community development team by partnering with Capital Corridor Community Development Corporation to conduct neighborhood surveys, help facilitate neighborhood planning meetings and more. The Bonner Scholars will also start a children services team to work with kids in the foster care system, possibly partnering with the Trenton-based non-profit organization Lifeties. Finally, the Bonners will also be spearheading a new CEL partnership that will focus on a range of anti-poverty projects in Camden, working with Professor Celia Chazelle and a non-profit organization called Heart of Camden.

-All information provided by Pat Donohue, Bonner Center Director, and Heather Camp, Associate Director