Douglas McCollum
High Point University
Douglas McCollum, a second year at High Point University, is a Bonner Leader active in serving his community, along with providing insights into deeper systemic issues through his performance of the spoken word. For the last two years, he has worked at the Community Writing Center as the Middle School Coordinator, mentoring and tutoring in the after-school program. He is a Say Yes, First Generation Scholar at the University. He has trained in Jujitsu for 15 years and is currently working on his black belt. He was raised in the city of High Point and was the founding member of the Poetry Project at High Point Central High School, an organization with which he still collaborates and lends his talent.
Personal Statement
I'm learning more about my passions as an individual and as someone who wants to continue to impact a community. Working with the Community Writing Center through Bonner allows me to see the areas I traversed as a child through a different lens. The service I do with them, as well as with a background in spoken word poetry and a discipline martial art in Jujitsu, has often put me in positions where I find what continues to ignite me; that is allowing all individuals to be able to have a seat and converse at the metaphorical "table" of life. Being able to listen to, take from, and add to a conversation is a craft I am ever-learning, but it is one that challenges my frameworks by introducing new perspectives into my life on a daily. From performances and workshops with dance companies, at Martin Luther King Jr. breakfasts, or in conferences or churches, to getting throw around on a mat for an hour and then speaking to the audience watching, to sitting down and working with a child on their homework so they feel accomplished for the day; in my eyes, it all adds to the process of nourishment.
