FOR RELEASE: Thursday, December 14, 2006
Student Brings in Contributions for College
Rachelle Bonner
Rachelle Bonner bagged a six-point buck during the opening weekend of deer season in early November. The elementary education major has also bagged numerous contributions to the College of Education and Health Professions since she began working part time in June to raise money for the University of Arkansas.
Bonner applied for the position with the National Phone Campaign that University Advancement operates out of University House when high gasoline prices were making it difficult for her to fill her vehicle's tank.
"I drive a big truck," she said. "I'm a farm girl."
She is also warm, personable and easy to talk with, qualities that travel along the phone lines as she asks alumni to consider making a gift to the university. On a typical shift at the computer that automatically dials numbers, Bonner can bring in 15 to 20 pledges amounting to a couple thousand dollars. Each time the computer dials a number, the monitor fills with a sort of script to guide the caller as well as background information about the potential donor such as year of graduation and degree.
"My job is to foster good feelings," Bonner explained. "We talk about how the college is doing, what's going on, and I try to answer any questions they may have. We're given a training packet with details about the college, and if I can't answer a question I apologize and say I will try to get the answer. I fill out a form on each call and can leave a note in the comment section if the person wants additional information."
When alumni think of the University of Arkansas, they think good thoughts because of the conversation they had with a student.
Sarah Ernst, manager of the National Phone Campaign, said the student callers are building relationships with alumni, an extremely important job.
"When alumni think of the University of Arkansas, they think good thoughts because of the conversation they had with a student," Ernst said.
The phone campaign employs about 45 students now, although that number varies, Ernst said. The students are also developing skills that will help them when they enter the work force after graduation, she said.
"They know how to talk to strangers," Ernst explained. "They know how to introduce themselves, and that's important when encountering a person for the first time in the work world."
The student callers talk as long as the person on the other end of the line wants to talk, Bonner said. They want to find out what people have done with their degrees, but she also has heard many World War II stories and tales of life on the UA campus in years gone by.
"I talked to a woman once who had lived in Carnall Hall," Bonner said of the former women's dormitory that now houses a restaurant and hotel. "She told me where her room was."
A retired teacher who had returned to the classroom on a temporary basis after several years related to Bonner the immense changes that had taken place in the intervening years.
"She talked about second-graders with laptop computers," Bonner said. "Sometimes I get hints and tips about teaching."
Although Bonner's parents are educators – her mother an elementary teacher in Murfreesboro and her father a high school teacher and coach in Nashville in southwest Arkansas – she initially didn't follow through on her childhood plan to be a teacher.
"When I was younger I wanted to be a teacher, but then I considered pre-med, pre-dental and architecture," Bonner said. "Then I had a job working with children as a nanny and I loved it. I thought, ‘Why not do this with my life?'"
She is working on programs of study that could lead to licensure in several areas – fifth and sixth grades, history and coaching/physical education.
Her part-time job has educated Bonner about the college and the university in a way that her classmates have not experienced. They ask her questions about the college, she said.
The calling database is divided into categories depending on whether a person has made a contribution before and how long ago. Asking for money isn't easy, Bonner said, and, of course, the toughest calls are usually to people who have never given a gift to the university.
"We're not really cold calling," she said. "Most people enjoy hearing from us."
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Contact:
Heidi Stambuck, director of communications
College of Education and Health Professions
575-3138, stambuck@uark.edu