Types of Service

Types of Service

Bonners can do service of many types; however, the beneficiary of the service should be the community (outside, not just campus), and the work should not be primarily administrative. In addition, co-curricular activities (such as recreation, dance, or arts) are only allowable when they also benefit a community constituency or program.

Encouraged Activities

• Maintaining Community: Utilize existing partnerships in Oberlin through serve.oberlin.edu

• Invest Long-term: if you find a service site(s) that works for you, committing deeply to them builds trust with community partners which can lead to impactful capacity building opportunities. 

• In-Person, Local Service: As a Bonner Scholar, one of your goals should be to build bridges between campus and the community. This is most easily done when service is done in Oberlin. 

• Virtual Service: The Oberlin Bonner Scholars Program allows virtual service. Virtual service should have a measurable outcome. This can look like a documented schedule of meetings, a presentation of service completed, data sets of served populations, etc. First-Year Bonners are not able to complete virtual service as their only service site. 

• Connected Service: When we work to our strengths, we often serve more effectively. Being intentional about seeking out service that aligns with your academic, professional, or personal interests in encouraged. 

• Research: Research should be specifically approved by Bonner staff. Research should have measurable interactions with an external community. The Bonner staff is actively working with the Office of Undergraduate Research to create appropriate policies for STEM students who want to consider their research for hours. 

• Community Based Learning Courses: Bonners can count hours working directly in the community through a CBL course towards their Bonner hours. For example, hours spent teaching students Spanish through SITES would count. Hours spent in class would not. 

• Student Groups & ExCos: Please see the below document about Bonner Certified Student Orgs. and ExCos. 

Restricted Activities

• Religious Proselytizing: A student cannot be involved in any kind of service to persuade individuals or groups to join a particular religious group or belief. They may, however, do regular educational tutoring with, say, a church youth group. Interfaith work is also permitted.

• Political Campaigning: While Bonners are encouraged to be involved in advocacy or political engagement, you may not count these hours for service.

• Only On-Campus Work: A student’s placement should not just be on campus. Only the Senior Interns (part of the Bonner Leadership Team), or other campus specific, Bonner-defined interns can have their primary work occur to benefit the program and campus community.

• Military Service: A student may not consider service in any country's military for Bonner hours.