Augsburg Student Bonner Community Leaders, Academic Year 2023-24

Company Description

Augsburg’s Bonner Community Leaders (BCL) program is a part of a nationally recognized network of leadership and scholarship programs through the Bonner Foundation. Augsburg BCL is an intentionally diverse cohort of 20-25 students who commit to doing civic and community-based cooperative 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 students 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 and collaboration and quality work that lives up to our mission of educating students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.

Rate of Pay: $15.19/hour

Requirement: Applicants must have work-study eligibility as part of their financial aid award.

Job Description

This is an application to participate in the Bonner Community Leaders Program, which is housed under the Sabo Center for Democracy & Citizenship. Accepted students will participate in a cohort learning experience for at least 2 academic years, during which they will be placed into job or internship positions with various campus and community partners.

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. In order for students to cultivate a critical lens of the public world, we encourage students to do deep reflection and analysis even around ground-level work.
• Although we value opportunities for students to work with partners doing direct-service, we prioritize opportunities for student leaders to do collaborative, co-creative work with the communities in which they participate and seek to expand such opportunities.

• As Augsburg students, 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 in order to cultivate capacity for effective future work.

STRUCTURE:

• Bonner Leaders work up to 15 hours (max) per week in academic year-long placements, with the option for summer placement.
• First year Bonner Leaders will choose a placement from one of our on-campus partner programs.
• Bonner Leaders 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 are every-other Wednesday from 4:30pm-5:45pm. View the calendar HERE.
• Bonner Leaders will enroll in the Student Leadership Development course (LST 296) within the first year of being accepted to the program.
• Additionally, Bonner Leaders will do individual check-ins with Program Staff once per semester and complete reflections throughout the academic year.
• Students who hold Junior and Senior academic status are eligible to receive the Sabo Scholarship in the amount of $3,500/academic year.

Qualifications

Qualifications:

• Passionate about social change, justice, and community-centered work
• Desire to develop leadership skills in a group setting
• Experience in community engaged learning, volunteering or leadership
• Commitment to at least 2 years in the program
• Commitment to full program participation
  • 2 meetings/month
  • 8-15 hours/week of community-centered work (will depend on placement)
    • First year Bonner Leaders will choose a placement from one of our on-campus partner programs.
  • Enroll in Student Leadership Development course (LST 296) within first year of program

Other Criteria:

• Work study eligibility is required. Contact Student Financial Services if you have questions about your financial aid package: studentfinances@augsburg.edu
• First generation college students encouraged to apply
• Interested in areas of public work
  • Civic engagement & public policy
  • Education
  • Youth Development
  • Community access (Food justice, resource sharing, housing, employment, public health)
  • Community Organizing

Additional Information

Application Instructions:

All student applicants must complete the following for consideration:

• Submit a Resume (required).
• Submit a document answering 3 of the 5 application questions.
• View Placement Site options HERE.
• Complete the Placement Choice Form HERE.

Application Questions:

Choose 3 of the 5 questions below to answer (300 words max)

Attach questions and answers as a word doc or PDF. Also indicate your placement interest in this document.

1. The Bonner Community Leaders (BCL) program is for students who have a passion to build capacity for just communities. Bonner Leaders will focus their work on the issue areas of education, health, environment, economic justice, and the arts. Which area interests you most, and why?
2. As we enter into partnership 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 that affects how you would approach community-centered work.
3. The BCL program is a four-year, structured program designed to develop community leaders like you. Describe one of the Common Commitments or Cornerstone Activities from the larger Bonner network that particularly interests you and share your ideas for this area: (Common Commitments: http://bit.ly/23sXmR7; Cornerstone Activities: http://bit.ly/1ruIGou)
4. Balancing community engagement with your academic commitments can be challenging. Which aspects of the program commitment, as outlined in our letter, do you foresee as a challenge or obstacle for you if you were selected for this role? How might you overcome or address this challenge?
5. Ongoing program design and improvement is a key component of Bonner programs across the country. Bonner students make important contributions to the growth and development of their campus’ program. What and how are you excited to contribute to the development of this program at Augsburg?

Augsburg University is an Affirmative Action/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.