Examples of Student Engagement in Politics and Careers: What We Learned from Alumni Survey

To learn even more about our alumni, the Bonner Foundation and network celebrated our 20th anniversary by organizing the first large-scale Bonner Alumni Survey.  The feedback we received was tremendous, and the findings are encouraging and significant.  In the process, we received contact information for over 3,000 alumni.  A total of 1,054 alumni responded to the survey, for a 32% response rate.

Below are some of the bulleted findings from our survey:

The Alumni Respondents:

• represented 24 schools;
• are evenly distributed across the 20 years;
• and 46% had received MS or MAs and 17% had terminal degrees, with many planning for a terminal degree.

We learned that:

• Many alumni had done a year of full-time service after graduation:
  • 10% had done a year of service with a faith-based group;
  • 8% served with AmeriCorps sponsored year-of-service programs; and
  • 2% worked with Teach for America.
• A remarkable 31% work in the government sector.
• Impressively, another 34% in the nonprofit sector.
• The largest employment group is teachers (24%).
• 33% responded that the Bonner Program gave them advantage in finding a job and/or influenced the career they chose.
• 90% voted in the last November election (much higher than the national average for their age group).
• 78% had volunteered in the 12 months before the survey.

Brief Summary of the Alumni Survey

A Study of College Graduates’ Equanimity, Commitment to Service,