HPU Bonner Leaders Win National Awards at 35th Anniversary Event
Avery Miles and Osliany Mora-Morejon, current co-presidents of the HPU Bonner Leader Program, received awards for community service during the National Bonner Foundation’s Summer Leadership Institute.
HIGH POINT, N.C., June 27, 2025 – Student officers in High Point University’s Bonner Leader Program and several alumni recently received awards for community service during the National Bonner Foundation’s 35th anniversary commemoration and 2025 Summer Leadership Institute in Richmond, Virginia.
Started in 2013, HPU’s Bonner Leader Program gives students who have a heart for service a way to positively impact the High Point community while growing their skills. Students who serve as Bonner Leaders commit to completing 8-10 hours of community service per week, adding up to more than 15,000 hours of community service during the 2024-25 academic year.
Three current HPU Bonner Leaders traveled to Richmond with Dr. Robert Tillman, director of the Bonner Leader Program, and joined nearly 450 attendees from 116 colleges, universities, partner organizations and graduate schools from across the country. The following HPU affiliates received Bonner anniversary awards at the event earlier this month:
Avery Miles, a senior marketing major from Burlington, North Carolina, and current co-president of the Bonner Leaders, received the Impact through Social Action Award. This award recognizes faculty, students, alumni, staff and partners who demonstrate excellence in teaching or engaging in social action to address the needs of places and communities. Miles spent the past three years volunteering at the Mega Missions Ministries Community Writing Center, supporting students from underserved backgrounds in grades 3–8 by providing individualized guidance to boost their academic confidence. He also served as a Youth Empowerment Academy Facilitator, teaching life skills and promoting community service. Additionally, Miles oversaw approximately 200 students as they packed 20,000 vegetable seeds on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 20. The seeds were distributed to nonprofits across Guilford County to help fight hunger.
Osliany Mora-Morejon, a senior criminal justice major from High Point and current Bonner Leader co-president, earned the Spirit of Ubuntu Award. This honor recognizes individuals who demonstrate one or more of the Bonner Foundation’s Common Commitments (civic engagement, community building, diversity, international perspective, social justice, spiritual exploration and wellness) and embody the spirit of community engagement. Over the past three years, Mora-Morejon has made a meaningful impact at D-Up Inc., a local nonprofit and afterschool program that teaches children to live healthier lives. She worked closely with the nonprofit’s executive director to support the nutritional needs of approximately 50 families weekly. She also led the winter care kit packaging project at HPU, where Bonner Leaders and volunteers assembled more than 500 care packages on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to assist those experiencing homelessness and transition within the community.
HPU alumni Dalton Lucas and Glenda Emanuel, who each served as Bonner Leader co-presidents during their time on campus, received the Living the Mission Award. This award honors alumni, year of service members or interns who have moved into professional roles in the field to make a greater impact.
Lucas is a Class of 2022 alumnus who is now a law student at Georgetown University.
Emanuel graduated from HPU in 2023 and works as a legal and compliance analyst at BlackRock Inc.