By: Sabrina Miller, Content Strategy Director
Baltimore, Md- Notre Dame of Maryland University nursing student Jemima Olanrewaju ‘27 is passionate about more than just healthcare; she’s committed to transforming communities through advocacy, equity, and dignity-driven service.
As a Bonner student at NDMU, Olanrewaju is part of a national network of undergraduates who commit to completing 300+ hours of service annually while pursuing a rigorous academic path. For Olanrewaju, this dual commitment is deeply personal and purposeful.
“I’ve always loved helping the community,” she shared, reflecting on her early volunteer work in high school. That passion led her to join the Bonner program at NDMU, where she’s found new ways to serve and lead.
Olanrewaju recently attended her first Bonner Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) conference, where she joined more than 400 students from across the country, some coming from as far away as Hawaii, for a weekend of workshops and immersive learning.
“It was really eye-opening,” Jemima said. “We learned about leadership, equity, service, and how they all align with what Bonner stands for, being a change-maker in our communities.”
She especially appreciated an interactive icebreaker that visually demonstrated the program’s unifying impact: each student tied colored threads together, ultimately weaving a large web that symbolized their interconnectedness despite coming from different schools and backgrounds.
At NDMU, Olanrewaju has been involved with several campus and community service initiatives, including Gator Thrift, Caroline’s Cupboard, and the GEDCO Food Pantry in Baltimore. In these roles, she helped track inventory, distribute food, and support neighbors in need. Work that grounded her understanding of service in empathy and practical action.
This year, she will be taking her impact even further during her service-learning placements with Gilchrist and St. Joseph’s Medical Center, aligning her service with her career aspirations in nursing.
“I wasn’t able to participate last year because of transportation challenges,” she explained. “But I’m excited to finally serve in a clinical setting where I can connect my nursing studies with real community care.”
In June, while attending the Bonner conference, Olanrewaju also participated in a health immersion experience at Health Brigade, one of Virginia’s oldest community health clinics. There, she learned how the clinic supports uninsured, marginalized, and immigrant populations through inclusive care including mental health services and harm reduction programs.
“They meet people where they are, without shame or bias,” she said. “That left a huge impression on me.”
This experience affirmed her belief that nursing is about more than treating symptoms. It’s about advocacy, social justice, and seeing patients as whole people.
“I don’t just want to be a nurse who treats patients and moves on. I want to be someone who advocates for people and treats them with dignity,” Jemima said. “Community service has shown me that healthcare and social justice are deeply connected.”
As she looks to the future, Jemima hopes to continue combining her nursing education with her passion for equity and service. Whether she’s providing direct patient care or advocating for vulnerable populations, her experiences through Bonner have given her a clearer sense of purpose.
“Everything I’m learning in the community, I bring back to campus. And everything I learn on campus, I take into the world,” she said. “That’s what being a Bonner and a Notre Dame student is all about.”
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.