Building Life Skills through Service: Briana Smalley is learning how a community can create positive change.

Inside the High Point City Council Chambers, Briana Smalley sees leaders in her city offer someone a second chance.

That someone was convicted of a past violent crime. But today, they're being addressed by a police officer, FBI agent, prosecutor, U.S. Marshal and nonprofit leaders, all of whom gather quarterly to send an important message: Crime isn't welcome here.

"I've learned that some people can turn their life around," Smalley says. "These meetings help them understand they have a choice to become a productive member of society or return to prison."

Smalley, a High Point University sophomore and criminal justice major, knows that this kind of meeting is rare. She's interned at the state attorney's office in her hometown of West Palm Beach, Florida, for three consecutive summers, where she saw victims receive needed support. But she never saw officials from different agencies work together to prevent offenders from repeating crimes until she began working with High Point Community Against Violence (HPCAV).

"These are local, state and federal officials who wouldn't work together anywhere else," Smalley says. "To see this happen so regularly blows my mind. In High Point, it works."

HPU's Bonner Program connected Smalley to HPCAV. The Bonner Program is located on select campuses across the country. Its mission, along with HPU's expanding Service Learning Program, is to offer students the chance to give back while building their skill sets.

"HPU has great resources for students who want to be involved in community service,"says Smalley, who completed more than 2,000 hours of service by the time she graduated from high school. "It's a vital part of my life I wanted to continue in college, and the Bonner Program gives me the platform to escalate my passions."

Learning from Crime Prevention Leaders

Smalley chose HPCAV as her service site after a round of rotations at High Point nonprofits.

It made sense. Smalley is a criminal justice major who loves to apply her knowledge to help Jim Summey, the nonprofit's executive director and only full-time staff member.

In turn, she learns from a man whose deterrence model lowered crime by 57 percent in a 17-year period.

"Jim has become a huge mentor to me," Smalley says. "I never thought about offenders after they went to jail. Now I know there is more to their story. Some can change their life."

Summey founded HPCAV in 1997 to reduce violent crimes such as burglaries. He connected and built...

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