Damaris Bonner
Notre Dame de Namur University
Damaris Bonner is involved in every facet of student life and NDNU. Currently she is serving as a Bonner Leader. As a Bonner Leader she commits ten hours a week or more to a community partner and social justice programs both on and off campus. Her community partner is Homework Central, where she is a tutor and mentor to underserved students. Damaris shows the determination passion and awareness. She has persevered through so much in her short life and uses those experiences to teach up. Since high school she has been active in social issues, including affordable housing, gentrification, education, immigration, and she continues to be active in them in college. She is a true advocate and brings her personal and academic experience into how she addresses social issues. That is one of the many reasons why she applied to the Bonner Leader Program. She also serves the NDNU community by participating in our Diversity Council, Black Student Union, and multicultural programing efforts. In and out of the classroom Damaris shows she has the will to succeed. Damaris's future is bright, and I believe in Damaris and her abilities.
Personal Statement
I am an outspoken young female interested in creating positive and sustainable social change. Growing up, my narrative consisted of being raised by a single a mother living in low-income housing, all while having a father in-and-out of prison. Growing up as a black girl in San Francisco, I came to see a massive wave of gentrification and systematic inequalities affected me and my surrounding community. However, I did not let these scenarios affect me. I aim to fight for social justice, in a time when it is truly needed. I have taken the steps to educate and empower myself on topics and solutions to better the community. For example: I took the grassroots approach by supporting protest for DACA students, joining student leadership and government positions to advocate for my peers, and even became a policy debater to bring awareness to the atrocities people of color face in our society. As I transitioned into college, I have continued to fight for social justice by supporting the local community. I have done so by being a part of the Sr. Dorothy Stang Center's Bonner Leader Program, Black Student Union, Student Assembly and Diversity Council through which I can continue to push forward and to fight for social justice on and off the Notre Dame de Namur University campus.
