CSB and SJU receives national award at Bonner Summer Leadership Institute

06/19/2009

The College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, and Saint John’s University, Collegeville, were awarded a Serve 2.0 Star Community Partner Profile award during the Bonner Summer Leadership Institute June 3-6 at Stetson University, DeLand, Fla.

The award was presented to CSB and SJU and honored the video made by SJU sophomore Brian Long (Andover, Minn.; communication and English double major). He assembled a video on hunger, homelessness and the program’s community partner, Place of Hope Ministries in St. Cloud, Minn. To watch the video, please see the following link: Place of Hope and Homelessness.

The video was warmly received, according to Marah Jacobson-Schulte, service learning coordinator and director of the Bonner Leaders at CSB and SJU, who also attended the institute.

“Our video was the only one to receive a standing ovation (from the participants),” Jacobson-Schulte said, noting that over 400 students, administrators and community partners from across the country attended the event, which was sponsored by the Bonner Foundation.

The theme of the conference was “From Issue to Impact,” which provided a forum for an exchange and elaboration of ideas on how to make sustainable, necessary change in local communities.

Four Bonner Leaders from CSB and SJU also attended the institute: Long, and CSB students Adia Zeman (sophomore, Ramsey, Minn., communication major), Jacqueline Carlson (sophomore, Ramsey, peace studies major) and Lindsey Cermak (senior, Burnsville, Minn., humanities major).

Jacobson-Schulte and the Bonner Leaders also presented two workshops at the institute: “The Big Picture: A Social Change Wheel to Guide Your Leadership,” and “Work and Play: Great Event Organizing.”

The Bonner Foundation is the sponsor of the Bonner Scholars and Bonner Leaders Program. Its programs engage students in service and civic work to strengthen their communities, while also building mutually beneficial relationships with community partners to achieve impact. The goal is to build a broader campus culture and infrastructure for civic engagement.