Bonners team with Leadership Scholars for biannual retreat
On Jan. 23 and 24, the university’s Bonner Scholars participated in one of their biannual leadership retreats in an all new way. For this retreat students stayed on campus, using their time together to workshop their own leadership skills as opposed to venturing out into the community to serve, something they’ve done in the past.
According to Adrienne Tharp, coordinator of the Bonner Scholar Program, the students had dinner together in the cafeteria Friday, and that evening they viewed and discussed a documentary titled “Born into Brothels.” The scholars also participated in an activity for their issue-based projects – which are required of Bonner Scholars – as well as held discussions regarding their progress within these projects.
“They’ve been working on [the projects] all year,” said Tharp. “But we wanted to set aside some time so they could really look at their projects.”
Bonner Scholars are required to participate in one issue-based project, also called IBPs. Individual scholars choose a Bonner student-led service project to join, and they work within the community to accomplish certain goals.
There are four issues for the scholars to choose to work with in their projects: Teen Dating Violence Awareness, Suicide Prevention, Empty Bowls – which partners with the Community Foundation of Greene County – and a cheesesteak fundraiser, which will take place on Feb. 20 in the Bee Hive. The funds raised there will go toward programming and repairs for the location of the Bonner students’ who chose this project as their IBP, according to Tharp.
Tharp added that one of the activities the scholars participated in over the weekend was called Big Hairy Audacious Goals. This activity had the scholars answering specific questions regarding their IBPs to ensure that the projects were meeting the proper requirements and goals.
Saturday, the Bonner Scholars teamed up with Leadership Scholars for a day of workshops and activities on campus.
“We had several [Leadership Scholars] come and help assist with some different leadership activities and team-building activities,” said Tharp. “The Leadership Scholars chose which activities they wanted to do with [the Bonner Scholars].”
One activity involved the scholars assessing and identifying their own personality traits in regard to their leadership skills.
“It was interesting for them to use that [activity] throughout the rest of the session, to see where those traits and different things applied,” said Tharp.
Many participants learned something new about themselves through the exercise.
“The activities were designed to help discover more about yourself,” said Melanie Byler, freshman athletic training major and Bonner Scholar. “The theory behind it is the more you know about yourself, the better you can serve those around you.”
Over 50 Bonner scholars and six Leadership Scholars attended the retreat. All Bonner students are required to attend the biannual retreats, and Tharp believes that these times are very beneficial to the scholars.
“It’s one of the few times a semester where they are actually all together,” said Tharp. “So it’s just an opportunity for them to continue building community within their classes but also amongst the whole group.”
Tharp added that the retreat was also a time to go over new business and program updates, but continuing to foster a sense of community through service is one of the main goals of the event every semester.
“My hope is that they are continuing to build community and focus on leadership,” said Tharp. “But it is also an opportunity for them to develop the skills that they already have, whether it’s in leadership or communication, and how to implement those things at their service sites.”
Teamwork was a resounding theme for some.
“My biggest takeaway from the weekend was that, as Bonners, we have to work together. We have to support each other, and the service we do is important even if it is small,” said Byler, who is serving in the Suicide Prevention IBP. “The need isn’t going to go away unless someone steps in to help. I can be that someone. The retreat reminded me of what it means to be a Bonner student, and what it means to serve because I care.”
Caley Blankenbuehler, junior secondary mathematics education major and Bonner Scholar, liked the changes new to the retreat this semester and said exchanging a day of service for workshops over the course of the weekend was beneficial.
“I liked that we were able to work together with [the Leadership Scholars] to plan an event. It was a fun and interesting day,” said Blankenbuehler, whose IBP is Teen Dating Violence Awareness. “We did a lot of activities that allowed us to grow together as a group. I loved that I was able to interact with a bunch of Bonners and Leadership Scholars who I don’t usually get to interact with.”
The shift in plans proved fruitful and caused those in charge to think of even more ideas for the next retreats.
“Overall, I think the weekend was successful,” added Tharp. “It was just kind of a nice change for students. Overall, I think things went well, and I have some ideas for how to improve retreats in the future.”