I would not have finished my undergraduate education if I was not fortunate enough to be a part of the community engagement scholarship program called The Bonner Scholars Program. Founded in 1990, the mission of the Bonner Program is  to provide “access to higher education and an opportunity to serve” for students in the program.  At the time of my graduation, the Bonner Program was in 22 small liberal arts college, spaces that are almost always completely white and wealthy. I, like all the other members of the program, came from immigrant, low-income backgrounds and households in which higher education was a far off dream. Bonner, along with our own talent, sweat, and skill, made that dream a reality.

I often refer to my undergraduate experience as time in which I acquired the my ‘life vocabulary’. Without tokenizing us, Bonner provided a space of nurturing, learning and growth for a large chunk marginalized students at my college.  I learned how to navigate spaces that weren’t made for me and own them as if I did. I learned that my mother was right, I had to (and will always have to) be better and work smarter than others. I lost what I thought was my voice and, somehow, found it in a place I hadn’t even thought to look. It was during undergrad that I was first asked “who” I wanted to be rather than “what”. And while my undergraduate experience was no where near perfect, I will be ever grateful for the space it allowed for me to learn who I was and who I could be.

In May 2013, Mother’s Day, I graduated from Allegheny College with a bachelors of arts in English and Political Science. Because of the Bonner Program, I had become a youth program manager in a community center of a low-income housing development; supervised a team of 4 regular volunteers; coordinated and implemented 3 educational programs and countless developmental activities for over 50 children between the ages of 3-18. These are not the experiences of the typical 22 year old college graduate. I was given an opportunity to take charge and use my agency and I shined.  Community Engagement was vehicle I used to reclaim the agency that has been taken from me over the years. It fortified my resolve and reminded me of the light I have within me and the power I have to determine my path.

The intersection of education, marginalized youth, and community-engaged teaching and learning is a passion of mine that has continued to balloon over the years into a career path and now a possible research topic for my graduate studies. There is something there, maybe a methodology or framework that can be studied and replicated because my experience is not unique. There are thousands of people from marginalized communities who can speak to the power of community engagement and their education.