Student: Bonner Community Leaders, Academic Year 2026-27

The Bonner Community Leaders (BCL) program is part of a nationally recognized network of leadership and scholarship programs through the Bonner Foundation. Augsburg BCL is a cohort of 25 students who commit to doing civic and community-based work and contribute to building a more just world, working in and with communities surrounding Augsburg University. BCL is ideally a 4-year program (students with at least 2 years left at Augsburg are welcome to apply), where students build deep relationships with a cohort of justice-minded peers and staff who support them throughout their academic journey. BCL contributes to Augsburg's mission to educate students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.

Augsburg University is committed to helping our student explore their vocation. As a University with a calling, we welcome the unique gifts that each of our employees brings to our collective work, and we are committed to supporting our students as they seek to match those gifts with the needs of the University and our larger community.

Student employment with Augsburg is more than a job - it is an opportunity for Augsburg students to gain meaningful work experience in a supportive setting that promotes professional growth, personal accountability, teamwork, collaboration and quality work that lives up to our mission of educating students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.

Ideals:

• We work with organizational partners on and off campus who have rich opportunities for students to grow and learn through leadership experience doing public work in community settings.
• We choose diverse organizational partners so that students are engaged around various social issues and strategies for making change, sharing those experiences with each other.
• We prioritize opportunities for student leaders to do collaborative, co-creative, capacity-building work with the communities in which they participate and seek to expand such opportunities.
• Students gain experience and grow core work competencies through training and field experience.
• Bonner Leaders are "students first". Although this does require different flexibility than an employee who is not a full-time student, we encourage students to prioritize balance to cultivate capacity for effective future work.

Bonner Programs across the nation share a set of common commitments, and Bonner Leaders from Augsburg participate in similar activities and leadership development:

• Common Commitments:
• Civic Engagement
• Community Building
• Social Justice
• International Perspective
• Diversity
• Spiritual Exploration

Cornerstone Activities:

• First Year Trip

• Bonner Leaders participate in a trip designed to engage them in community learning to help them explore their interest in social change.

• Second Year Exchange

• 2nd year Bonner Leaders participate in a day-long immersive learning or community-centered experience with Bonner Leaders from programs at other schools in the region.

• Third Year Leadership

• By this year, Bonners are taking on leadership in different ways

• Project/site coordinators or initiating changes at the sites

• Issues-based team leaders

• Creating their opportunity to lead and engage others!

• Senior Capstone

• The Senior Capstone is a culminating experience in which the senior develops a project with their placement site that will stay past their time with the program/organization.

Student Requirements:

• Federal work-study eligible
• First-generation college student
• Passion for community & justice-centered work
• Commitment to at least 2 years in the program
• Full program participation
• 2 meetings/month
• 8-10 hours/week of community-centered work (will depend on placement)

Structure:

• Bonner Leaders work up to 10 hours per week in academic year-long placements.
• Bonners are encouraged to return to the same site each year if they are a good fit for the organization and there are increasing leadership roles they can take on.
• Bonner Leaders are required to participate in approximately 4-5 hours of programming per month, and they are not permitted to schedule work shifts during that time. Meetings occur on Wednesdays from 4:30pm to 6:00 pm starting in September.
• Students will complete individual check-ins with program staff twice per semester and complete reflections throughout the academic year.
• Students who hold Junior and Senior academic status are eligible to receive the Sabo Scholarship.

Application Materials

Please answer all three questions below. Each response should be between 250-300 words. Submit your responses as a PDF and attach to your application using the additional documents upload.

Essay Questions

• The Bonner Community Leaders (BCL) program is for students passionate about building just communities. BCLs focus on issue areas such as education, health, environment, economic justice, and the arts. Which area interests you most and why?
• As we enter into partnerships with campus partners and community organizations, our identities play an important role in informing our work. Describe a part (or parts) of your identity (social, economic, spiritual, etc.) and how it influences your approach to community-centered work.
• Balancing community engagement and academic responsibilities can be challenging. Which aspects of the program commitment, as outlined in our letter, might be challenging for you if selected, and how would you address or overcome these challenges?

In addition to your responses, please include:

• At least one reference (name, title, relationship, email)

• References can include past work supervisors, professors, academic advisors, or mentors.

• A resume is encouraged but not required.

Augsburg University is an Equal Opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees regardless of their race, creed, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, military service, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete our application process, please contact the Human Resources department by phone at 612.330.1058 or email at hr@augsburg.edu. Human Resources is located at 20 Memorial Hall.