Congratulations Bonner Graduates

Celebrating our Fall 2020 Graduates

12/21/2020

The current Bonner senior cohort, of which three students graduted this December, is undoubtedly a resilient and impressive group. Entering the University of Houston in 2017, these students attended their college classes for just one week before Hurricane Harvey sent everyone home, devastated Houston, and set in motion a very painful and challenging semester for all. This Bonner entering class missed out on many of their orientation and integration events, and yet they still jumped into service and their college experience. Whether it be 7th Grade writing mentorship, college application and SAT peparation, or food recovery and delivery to hungry Houstonians, this group embraced the UH Bonner commitment to win a victory for the City of Houston before graduating, and they succeeded both in their studies and in building a strong community with peers and friends.

Fast forward to March 2020 and all of these students went home to finish their junior year online, stunned by the sudden change but persistent in their work. Though sad for the loss of the seniors at the time, these then-juniors looked forward to returning to campus for their own senior year, a chance to finish their undergraduate career strong. As we all know, though, Fall 2020 ushered in another semester of virtual learning, and our December graduates were made to finish their journey distanced from friends and faculty. Despite it all, these students carried on in the face of great adversity, completing their degrees, maintaining a commitment to service, and inspiring younger students to be both successful and generous with their time and effort. These graduates - who can only be described as reslient and inspring - will go on to great things, and we know they will continue to benefit their communities and those around them, wherever they land.

Austin, Jane and Crystal -- working with you for the past three and a half years has been a joy, and we can't thank you enough for giving of your time to build a better Houston and a better Bonner program at UH. Congratulations to you all, and best of luck in all that you go on to do!

Bonner Love,

Doug and Trinity

Austin Brooks

B.B.A. Accounting

Austin Brooks received a Bachelors in Accounting from the C.T Bauer College of Business while also taking Master courses during his final year. While balancing internships and rigorous coursework, Austin demonstrated dedicated commitment to service by serving as an executive in Campus Kitchen his first year in Bonner and as the Project Head of ImpACT in his final year. Austin helped reinstate ImpACT, our ACT and college prep program, revamp the curriculum, create a meaningful partnership with KIPP Sunnyside and KIPP Houston high schools, and inspired so many high school and undergraduate students. Without him, ImpACT would not be where it is today, and we can't thank Austin enough for his encouraging spirit and hard work. After graduation, Austin will complete his Masters of Accounting and begin working at his dream company, Deloitte, in tax accounting. We wish you all the best, Austin!

Jane Bowman

B.S. Nutrition and Human Foods

Jane has been a hunger fighter for 3.5 years with Bonner. During her undergraduate career, Jane served as an executive for the Campus Kitchen project at UH and as a founding member for the new Food Insecurity Team (FIT), where she contributed to the development of new service initiatives for combating food insecurity in Houston. Jane’s has always been a steady and compassionate commitment to serving her community, and we will miss her laughs, good humor, and compassion. Jane is graduating with a BS in Human Nutrition and Foods and an Honors minor in Medicine in Society, and she will serve as an AmeriCorps NCCC Traditional Corps Team Lader for the North Central region beginning in January. Jane hopes to pursue the Peace Corps after her AmeriCorps term and is a considering a career in non-profit leadership. Bonner Love, Jane, and best of luck with all that you do!

Crystal Solis-Saucedo

B.S. Psychology

Crystal has been a superstar Bonner in our education projects for the past 3.5 years. Despite beginning her Bonner career during Hurricane Harvey and ending it during the COVID-19 pandemic, her commitment never failed. Crystal spent the first half of her time in Bonner as a mentor with the WISE program and displayed an immense amount of care for her mentees in the essay videos and holiday cards she created for them. Her work with ATP in the latter half was nothing shy of excellent as she built strong relationships with her mentees in preparation for the SAT, for college, and for life beyond school. Crystal also participated on a Bonner-wide level in the Introduction to Civic Engagement class and in Bonner spring break. All of this incredible work while pursuing a BS in Psychology. We wish her the best in all her future endeavors!