AY 2024-2025: Bonners and Canales Introductions

In the spring of 2024, the Bonner staff faced a new and daunting challenge.  The applicant pool for the class of 2028 Bonner Leaders had doubled in size, while at the same time the students in that pool displayed greater experience as servant leaders in their high school communities.

“It was a good challenge to have,” reports Robin Hille Michaels, Director of Service Internships.  “But it made the work of selecting an incoming class that much more difficult.”

In the end, 14 students were offered spots as incoming Sewanee Bonner Leaders. Bonner staff expected that at least a couple of students would decide to go elsewhere for college, as was normally the case.  In this way, too, this incoming class was different.  All 14 accepted the offer for the first time in the program’s history.  These students hail from the local area to international locales, bringing diverse experiences of service in the community.  They also represent diverse involvement across campus, including as college athletes, Posse students, research fellows, musicians, and outdoor enthusiasts. 

They join the larger Bonner/Canale community, totaling 76 student servant leaders. While Bonner Leaders come into the program as entering freshmen not knowing with which community partner they will be placed, Canale Leaders apply as current Sewanee students to work with an already identified community partner and project.  

In the spring of 2024, 10 new Canale Leaders were selected to begin their work this fall. These students have already established themselves as leaders on campus and serve as Peer Health Educators, President of the Order of the Gown, directors of themed houses, Arcadians, are in the University Choir, and deeply involved in Greek life. They have already brought these campus leadership skills into their work with our partners.

Prepared through weekly training and reflection that deepen their self-awareness, further their knowledge of the context in which they work, and build skills for communication, collaboration, and capacity building, all Bonners and Canales are placed with community partners from Franklin, Grundy, Coffee, and Marion Counties. For the 2024-2025 academic year, students are working on 38 projects with a wide range in the type of service support they offer, showing that any student majoring in any department can find a way to lead through service. Two new community partners joined with the Bonner/Canale program this year: Cumberland Forest School and the Sewanee Volunteer Fire Department. The Cumberland Forest School connects young children with and educates them in nature. The Sewanee Volunteer Fire Department offers community outreach, events and education on fire prevention, in addition to their primary work protecting the community during fires and accidents.