The Bonner Scholars Program at UR provides service and social justice scholarships to 100 students from around the world. In their first year in the university, Bonner students work with a variety of service sites in Richmond and across multiple issues like immigration, healthcare, education, and environmental justice. After exploring Richmond in their first semester, Bonners then commit to work with a service site for the remainder of their four years at UR. Currently, about 12 Bonner scholars and UR students work with Refugee and Immigration Services of Richmond, teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at West End Presbyterian Church (WEPC).

Kelly Behrend, a senior at UR and volunteer coordinator for WEPC, has been working with refugees and immigrants for the past four years. By teaching English during her freshman, sophomore and senior years, Behrend learned a lot about how immigration issues work in Richmond and in the U.S. in general. She spent her junior year abroad in Europe working with refugees and immigrants -- teaching Spanish as a Second Language to Moroccan and Algerian immigrants while in Spain and working as a journalist for a refugee support center in Northern Ireland. "My service experience with RIS has influenced me profoundly, inspiring me to create an major in Peace and Conflict so I could study human security and refugee issues around the world", Behrend says. She is now working with other Bonners at RIS to form an on-campus international issues coalition, in which students hope to bring together resources to help area refugees and immigrants beyond simply teaching English.

Other Bonner Scholars have had similarly positive experiences working with RIS. First-year student Thomas Trail reflects, "What I enjoy most about working at RIS is the people. It's an incredible feeling to help people, to see them learn, and to learn from them." Like many other students who volunteer with the program, Thomas says that serving at RIS allows him to break away from the stresses of university life and share with people from around the world.

David Burchard, also a freshman, is humbled by his students and how they "have faced hardships and horrors that we as college students have not experienced personally." He also admires his students' devotion: "They come to class every week, regardless of weather conditions, with faces beaming and notebooks ready," says Burchard.

Many volunteers express how their relationships with their students evolve into meaningful friendships. Bonner Scholar Nalina Nop says, "We've become their friends, and often times their troubles become our own. So, when we are able to accomplish something together (even something as small as understanding the difference between past tense and future tense), it's so rewarding."

Serving with RIS complements the academic studies of Bonner Scholars, who have majors like Business, International Studies, Language Studies, or Education. Fran del Rosario, sophomore Bonner Scholar, says that serving at RIS brings "practicality" and purpose to her academic experience at UR. "Being an immigrant myself," she emphasizes, "I understand the importance of language acquisition. As ESL teachers, we help to push our students forward, not just in learning English, but also in being successful overall."

The work ethic demonstrated by ESL students is somthing that particularly impresses Bonner Scholar Kelly Behrend. "It's beautiful to see our students' intense desire to learn -- arguably stronger than many of the privileged students in our own prestigious university. Their passion for learning the language astounds me. Coming early, leaving late, and requesting to keep learning during the breaks we offer, it is clear that their passion deserves success," she explains.

The Bonner Scholars are passionate about ensuring that success and enjoy working together with people from around the world in doing so.