Students who have excelled in and out of the classroom will be honored at 6 p.m. on April 14 at the Student Awards Convocation in the Eberhard Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
The top-award recipients and students who will receive an Excellence-in-a-Discipline award are listed on the Provost's Office website . This year’s honorees include:
Natalie Colfer will receive a Niemeyer Award for undergraduate students for her leadership skills. Colfer will graduate with a bachelor's degree in environmental and sustainable studies with a focus in sustainable food systems and minors in applied statistics and psychology.
“My dream job would be to work in food sustainability in a way that also increases food access to people,” Colfer said.
She said she drew inspiration from urban agricultural development company Jade Rabbit as a model for her career.
A member of the Frederik Meijer Honors College, Colfer is involved with several groups on campus, including the Sigma Alpha Iota Fraternity, Laker Marching Band and Alternative Breaks, a student organization where members spend their spring break volunteering in communities across the nation. Colfer has led several conservation-based trips where members focused on park preservation.
“Creating reflections and working with my co-site leader was a very meaningful experience for me because it is interesting to see what other people get out of these trips,” Colfer said.
Her advice to other students: “Don’t be afraid to get involved, everyone has a different perspective that you can grow from,” she said.
– By Samantha Drougel
Jolene Bonner will receive the Gayle R. Davis First Generation College Student Emerging Leader Award. A junior at Grand Valley, Bonner currently serves as the president of the Student Environmental Coalition (SEC), a role she has held for two years, and vice president of the Farm Club.
Bonner knew early on that she wanted to pursue a career in nature and the environment. While in high school, those visions may have initially been animal-centric, but she has broadened her studies to major in environmental and sustainability studies with minors in sustainable urban and regional planning and sustainable food systems.
During her time as president of the SEC, Bonner founded the group’s e-board as well as coordinated events to send the coalition to environment-based organizations.
Bonner said she was surprised to be nominated for the award, and that it was gratifying to be recognized for her work when sometimes it is difficult to see it in her day-to-day life.
“People are actually seeing what I’m trying to do, and that I am making a difference,” Bonner said.
Bonner has taken an interest in environmental education. She recently began working for the Woodlands Discover Pre-School, an outdoor education center in Holland, where she will work with children and educate them on the environment.
“I nannied and babysat when I was younger, so I’ve always had a special connection with kids,” Bonner said. “I’m glad that I could find a way to blend my two passions together.”
Bonner, a Royal Oak native, is proud to be a first-generation college student. When she reflects on winning the award, Bonner credits her mom for motivating her to succeed in her education.
“My mom has always pushed me to be my best. She has always been my rock. So this award is also for her,” Bonner said.
–By Thomas Chavez
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