Student: Bonner Community Leaders, Academic Year 2025-26

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: $15.97/hour

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

Contact Student Financial Services if you have questions about your financial aid package: [email protected]

Please note: Orientation will be held on Sunday, September 14, 2025 and attendance is required.

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.
• 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.

STRUCTURE:

• Bonner Leaders work up to 10 hours per week in academic year-long placements.
• 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 occur on Wednesdays from 4:30pm to 5:45pm starting in September.
• Additionally, Bonner Leaders will do 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.

• Passion for community & justice-centered work.
• Commitment to at least 2 years in the program.
• Full program participation
  • 2 meetings/month
  • 8-12 hours/week of community-centered work (will depend on placement).

Application Questions

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

Each response should be no more than 300 words. Submit your responses as a PDF or Google Document to Coral Ramos at [email protected]. In addition to your responses, please include:

• At least one reference (name, title, and email).
  
   References can include past work supervisors, professors, academic advisors, or mentors.
• A resume is encouraged but not required.

Essay Questions

 (Select and respond to three of the following four questions):

1. 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?
   
    
2. 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.
   
    
3. 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?
   
    
4.  Bonner students are active in the design and improvement of their campus program. What are you excited to contribute to the development of this program at Augsburg, and how do you envision making that contribution?

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 [email protected]. Human Resources is located at 19 Memorial Hall.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.