The document outlines the cornerstone activities that build the foundation of a developmental program experience. It describes the purpose and components of key program elements like Orientation, First Year Trips, Second Year Exchanges, Third Year Leadership opportunities, and Capstone/Senior Presentation projects. It provides examples of activities and best practices for planning and executing each cornerstone experience to connect student development throughout their years in the program.

1. Cornerstone Activities The bedrocks of a
developmental program
experience

2. What We’ll Cover
• How Cornerstones build the foundation
• What these cornerstones are
• Best practices for planning and executing
• How they connect developmentally
• Innovative integration

3. How Cornerstones
build the foundation
First Year Trip - new
context for service & learning (i.e.,
poverty in campus and distant place)
Orientation - pre-college
immersion provides a sense of
community and a foundation for
success
Second Year Exchange -
the sense of a national movement
and connections across campuses
Third Year Leadership - an
opportunity to apply initiative on a project
(i.e., international trip, campus-wide event,
community event)
Capstones and Senior Presentations-
an opportunity to integrative thinking and doing - at
a site and often connected to student’s coursework

4. Orientation
Sense of place -
campus and
community
Personal
Exploration
Bonner Program
Expectations
Inspiration
SEnse of
Bonner
Community

5. Sense of place - campus and
community
Personal Exploration
Bonner Program Expectations
Inspiration
SEnse of Bonner
Community
High-Impact Practice
Link to First Year
Experience, Course, or
Seminar?
Craft Your
Agenda

6. 1. Sense of place - campus and
community
Relevant Resources:
• Community Asset Mapping
Training and Book
• Place-based Education
courses and books (local)
• Bonner Brochure
• Your Student Handbook &
Student Handbook Live
• Videos (YouTube Channel
and Bonner Wiki)
• Implementation Guide
- Overview of campus and service center
- Overview of local community by partners
- Short Service Project
Text

7. 2. Inspiration
Relevant Resources:
• River Stories Training
• Your Campus or Center
Vision and Long-Range
Strategic Plan
• Your alumni email list
(from the Foundation or
Development Office)
• Videos (YouTube Channel
and Bonner Wiki)
• Games, Games, Games
- Stories by other Bonners, Partners, and Alumni
- Visionary Speakers, Videos, and Ideas
- A chance to get connected to why we do this

8. 3. Bonner Program Expectations
Relevant Resources:
• Your Student Handbook
• Slides on the Five E’s
• Sample Expectations
(from other session or
wiki)
• Videos on the YouTube
Channel for BWBRS
• BWBRS Help Guide
• AmeriCorps Handbook
- Reviewing Your Handbook and Expectations
- The Developmental Model - Five E’s
- Presentations by Seniors and Bonner Lead Team
- Personal Development Plans

9. 4. Personal Exploration
Relevant Resources:
• LOTS of the Training
Modules, such as:
• Identity Circles
• Community Building
Challenge Course
• Cover Story
• Tower of Me’sa
• Your local partners or
staff, such as Outward
Bound or Service Clubs
- Engaging Workshops and activities that provide
students with a chance to reflect and share
- Physical Challenge Courses
- Service Projects and Reflection

10. 5. Sense of Bonner Community
Relevant
Resources:
• You
• Your students
• Your partners
• Your meals
• Talent shows,
bonfires, hikes,
staying
somewhere
together
• The B-Love
Videos!
- Respect
- Fun!
- Music
- Food
- Laughs
- Bonner Love

11. Craft Your Agenda
Day 1
Move in dorms early
Orientation - Bonner Program 101
Dinner together - staff, student, and partner speakers
Introductions to the Bonner Community
Day 2
Make breakfast together and eat in Bonner families
Community partner presentations (local history and context)
Local scavenger hunt (asset mapping part 1)
River Stories workshop
Lunch with faculty advisors
Review of First Year Experience course
Accountability and Expectations workshop
Ropes Course
Reflection - letters to selves

12. First Year Trip-
- open hearts, minds, and heads
3-7 days
Somewhere
out of local
context
Cohort experience for
frosh and new Bonners
Use Bonner
Funds
Provide a
chance to
delve into an
issue - like
poverty or
immigration

13. High-Impact Practice
Link to course such
as FYE for
preparation or learning
community
Craft Your Trip
3-7 days
Somewhere out of local context
Cohort experience for frosh
and new Bonners
Use Bonner Funds
Provide a chance to delve into an
issue like poverty

14. • Guilford College - Crow Reservation in
MOntana - explores Native American
experience and culture
• Emory &and Henry College - New York
City - learns about urban poverty,
comparing it to rural (Virginia) poverty
• Maryville College - Border of Mexico and
Texas - learns about immigration and
border issues
• Siena College - Presque Isle, Maine -
learns about very rural poverty, comparing
it to urban (Albany) poverty
• Waynesburg College - Philadelphia -
works with homeless and city ministries,
building on their rural experience, and visits
Foundation
Picking a Place
Need help? Talk to a Foundation
staff member to connect you
with another school or partner

15. 10%
10%
10%
10%
60%
Service or Meaningful Action*
Culture &and History
Community and Team Building
Education, Reflection &and Discussion - meetings with issue experts
Learning about the Organizations & Issues
Trips contain
a mix of
activitiesYes, it all counts for hours!

16. 1 Find a destination in a region different from your campus;
identify strong partners
2 Designate roles and responsibilities for Bonners (frosh and leaders) to
plan and implement the trip
3 Engage in preparation during Class Meetings — education, learning the
history, language, prominent issues, culture , and other information.
4 During the trip, engage in meaningful activities — service, learning,
reflection, cultural & team-building activities
5 After the trip,have your students process learning and share reflections
to your Bonner team or even the campus
6 Consult the detailed Implementation Guide on the Wiki!
Trip Organizing Steps

17. Second Year Exchange2-5 days
Pair up with 1 or more
other Bonner Programs or
other schools - cluster
Cohort experience
for second years
Use Bonner
Funds
Delve deeper into an
issue - like poverty
- adding advocacy/
policy dimension
Can also use
IMPACT or
other national
conference!

18. High-Impact Practice
Link to service
learning course or
learning community
Brainstorm
2-5 days
Pair up with 1 or more other Bonner
Programs or other schools - cluster
Cohort experience for second years
Use Bonner Funds
Delve deeper into an issue - like
poverty - adding advocacy/policy
dimension
Can also use IMPACT or other
national conference!

19. 1 Engage second year students in identifying partner school(s). This is a
chance to build cross-campus connections!
2 Engage students as planners and leaders. This can happen through
strategically using your Class Meetings to organize Exchange.
3
Engage in preparation during Class Meetings — Find strategies for linking the
Exchange to student development. For example, providing advocacy
training or tutoring in Spanish.
4
During the trip, engage in a wider array of meaningful activities — this isn’t
just a service trip! It’s goal is to expose people to the bigger ideas, a
sense of movement!
5
After the trip, have your students process learning and share reflections to
the broader Bonner and campus community. You may want to link with
blogging, vlogging, videos, and other social media.
6 Consult the detailed Implementation Guide on the Wiki!
Exchange Organizing Steps

20. Third Year Leadership1-14 days!
International Service
Immersion Trips
Cohort experience
for some or all
Third Years
Often raise
funds
Build on issue
knowledge - in
broader context
Often link
with course
Campus-wide events

21. For international immersions
Relevant Resources:
• International partnerships
resources
• Curricula - found under
Common Commitments
and new international
curricula
• Bonners Abroad Blog
- Develop international partner relationships
- Partner with Peacework
- Utilize international resources on wiki

22. High-Impact Practice
- Undergraduate
research
- diversity and global
learnining
Brainstorm
1-14 days!
International Service Immersion Trips
Cohort experience for some or all
Third Years
Often raise funds
Build on issue knowledge - in
broader context
Often link with course
Campus-wide events

23. Capstones and
Senior Presentations
A semester or
year project -
plus a presentation
A chance to
connect studies and
engagement
A high-impact
project
An engaging
presentation
for community
and campus

24. Capstones and Senior Presentations
Relevant Resources:
• Implementation Guide on
Senior Presentation and
Vocation
• Videos that can be found
on YouTube - Bonner
Network and other Bonner
Program channels
- The student may initiate a culminating project
- Many are developing connections to academic
capstones in major or special program

25. High-Impact Practice
capstone
Brainstorm
A semester or year project -
plus a presentation
A chance to connect studies and
engagement
A high-impact project
An engaging presentation for
community and campus

26. What’s on your worksheet
• Orientation
• First Year Trip
• Second Year Exchange
• Third Year Leadership
• Capstone & Senior Presentations