SLIPPERY ROCK — Unstable. That’s one way to describe the first years of Melissa Lopez’s life.

Born in Troy, Mich., to Mexican immigrants, Lopez was barely old enough to remember the day her father was deported, but she does.

It was her mother’s birthday.

Fearing further separation, the family moved several times seeking refuge and a reliable income.

To hear her describe that part of her life now seems a contradiction to the stable environment she has found at Slippery Rock University.

She’s not one to complain. In fact, Lopez looks at her past more as a guide to help others rather than as something that happened to her.

“It’s not that I feel like I have a greater appreciation (for what I have now); it’s just easier for me to understand what others are going through,” said Lopez, a freshman exercise science major from Pittsburgh.

Lopez has the opportunity to help others as one of five freshmen in the Bonner Leader Program at SRU.

Bonner students receive a scholarship and are paid to lead a community-service partnership for the university.

Among the traits desired for Bonner leaders is having a lived experience that informs their ability to create change for social issues.

In addition to her diverse cultural background, Lopez is influenced by issues related to hunger.

After she moved with her mother and brother at least four times before she was in the third grade, Lopez recalls difficult times when food was hard to come by.

“Immigration, food access and clean water are important issues to me,” Lopez said. “There were times my mom wouldn’t eat so me and my brother could because we didn’t have enough money.”

The family, which now includes her stepfather and stepsister, lives in Pittsburgh, where Lopez graduated from Avonworth High School.

Bonner Leaders at SRU receive $5,000 in financial support each year for four years, including a $3,000 scholarship and $2,000 earned through their work in the community.

They must commit at least 10 hours per week during the academic year to leading a partnership with a community organization while maintaining a minimum 2.5 GPA.

“What interested me most is just knowing that I (could be) working with others,” Lopez said. “I like working with other people and being part of the community.”

SRU joined a network of 64 institutions in the U.S. to adopt the Bonner Foundation’s civic engagement and scholarship model.

The foundation oversees the network to ensure that institutions are expressing the organization’s “common commitments” of civic engagement, community building, diversity, international perspective, social justice, spiritual exploration and wellness.

Lopez was one of nearly 50 applicants for the program and was interviewed by SRU’s 10-member Bonner Program Advisory Committee.

“We aspire all of our Bonner Leaders to have or be able to develop traits that include civic leadership, a diverse perspective and a passion to effect change related to social issues and the larger community,” said Sami Laurence, SRU’s Bonner Program developer.

During their first semester in fall of 2019, Bonner leaders rotated working at three service locations in the community every four weeks.

These included the Slippery Rock Community Library, the Macoskey Center for Sustainability Education and Research, and Don’t Stop Dreamin’, a foundation of Quality Life Services based in Butler.

In the spring, the Bonner leaders will be designed as the leader of a community partnership and work to build capacity for more SRU volunteers and resources.

By their fourth year in the program, their focus will shift to community action and scholarship.

As Lopez continues through the program, she will need to use every piece of her history to shape the future.

“It’s a little bit of everything that’s shaped who I am,” Lopez said. “I’m interested in these issues and helping people and that’s why I wanted to be in the Bonner Program.”

To learn more about the BLP at SRU, including information for students applying for the 2020-21 academic year, visit www.sru.edu.

Justin Zackal is a communication specialist with Slippery Rock University.