Waynesburg University sophomore Bonner Scholars participated in the annual Sophomore Summit on Saturday, Nov. 2. Grace Deep, the Bonner coordinator, managed several roles in organizing the event and helped lead many of the sophomores through various activities throughout the day.

Waynesburg University, Oberlin College, Allegheny College and Point Park University all took part in dividing different responsibilities, with Waynesburg being in charge of doing the catering portion according to Deep. 

“The event itself was at a conference center in Hazelwood, PA, for the first half. After that, we went to the Community Engagement Center at the University of Pittsburgh and did our closing activities,” Deep said. 

During the conference, Bonner Scholars had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers and learn about giving to their communities by being a good “neighbor.” The Bonners from each school also shared their differing experiences.

“Keith Caldwell, the Executive Director of Place-Based Initiatives for the Office of Engagement & Community Affairs, was our speaker, and we had three student keynote speakers; one was from Waynesburg, one was from Alleghany, and one was from Oberlin,” Deep said.

Penelope Barnett, a sophomore who was the key speaker at the event for Waynesburg University, shared her experience from the Sophomore Summit. 

“Honestly it was a really interesting experience. I was able to share how Waynesburg and the community help Bonner Scholars and the ability to have an impact,” Barnett said

Each school’s Bonner program does many similar yet different things Barnett explained, although one of the stark similarities being how each school shares the goal of being community-based and making everyone feel welcome.

Barnett described the day from start to finish, stating that they left around 8:30 p.m. from Waynesburg. Once they arrived, they did registration and got to know each other within small groups and spoke of what being a Bonner means to them and how they got into the program.

This was followed up with activities that aided in getting each person to know each other more. 

“We did an activity where we had to sit face to face with one individual we did not know from a different school, Grace Deep would ask one of us questions and one person would talk, and whoever was listening was not supposed to show any expression,” Barnett said. After this, each Keynote speaker got the opportunity to share what neighboring meant to them personally. 

They did a tour of what Pitt was doing within the Pittsburgh community and they got to see how they impact the community. 

“Overall, my biggest takeaway was to be able to see how different communities do different things,” Barnett said. 

This was the first time the Sophomore Summitt had taken place since COVID-19, Deep mentioned. In her opinion, the main takeaway for students is for them to know they are a part of something that is so much bigger than just the Waynesburg University Bonner Program, and that there are “so many opportunities out there.”