Call me crazy, but Pittsburgh did not win me over right away. To be fair, it is difficult to sell me on any city, especially a new one. I am one of those “country people” who would choose a narrow dirt road over a highway any day. I came to Pittsburgh for this program, tempering my hesitancy about the city with one thought: at least there are big hills. Mountains, hills, oceans—almost any glimpse of nature—remind me of God’s vastness. It is easy to stand before a fjord surrou

Andy Lynch, far right. I have always loved the Bible Verse Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, and it has always served as a focal point in my love of learning and desire to make an impact. Before finding Fellows, I often sat with it on my mind, questioning what exactly Christ wanted from me. As I sit in prayer, and reflect on the last two weeks, I can only begin to comprehend the opportunity that God has granted me. Through Christ, I ca

As the program comes to an end, we are experiencing many “lasts” together. Recently, we went on our final retreat—the closing retreat—and it was such a meaningful way to wrap up this season. During the retreat, we spent time in nature reflecting on our journey through the program and all that God has done in our lives: the growth, the blessings, and even the challenges. Life has felt so fast-paced lately, so having the opportunity to slow down and reflect was something I trul

As someone who is not from Pittsburgh, I was terrified to leave behind all the amazing mentors that I had in my corner in Virginia, including my small group leader, my discipler, the youth pastor who I served under, and the countless people who had mentored me by sharing their wisdom and their heart for Christ. However, thanks be to God, the Pittsburgh Fellows program has ensured that I have people with this same Christ-like character in my corner to walk alongside me. One of

As the Fellows program wraps up and I transition into a full-time AI engineer role at Gloo, I’ve been reflecting on what the past year has taught me. Essentially being a startup, the culture in my office is very fast-paced, and we are always building a lot of new features. As a result, I quickly realized that I have a lot of agency in how I architect projects and systems, which forced me to think about bigger picture effects. A piece of advice my team received from my supervi

I have been reflecting a lot on this question as I enter the final weeks of the Pittsburgh Fellows. I came into my job placement at PGT Trucking with a heart full of anticipation, eager to get things "right", and energized by a posture of curiosity towards the work ahead of me. I am finishing my fellowship year excited by my growth in knowledge about the trucking industry, proud of the project I shaped, and thrilled to start my full-time job at PGT Trucking. A passage in Jame

One of the things that drew me to the Pittsburgh Fellows program in the first place was the opportunity to build a substantial network in Pittsburgh. It takes a village to carve out a good career path, and I knew that if I wanted to have a career in this great city I would need to connect with locals involved in the city’s businesses. I would need help understanding my own field, finding open positions, and even making critical life choices during times of transition. Pittsb

One part of the Pittsburgh Fellows Program is our Friday classes that we take each week. Every Friday morning, I get to participate in a discussion about our faith with the other Fellows and the pastor of our church. Walking into those conversations feels like stepping back into one of the parts of college I miss most. It reminds me of my experience at Grove City College, where faith and learning were never meant to be separated, but were woven together in a way that challeng

We are all busy. There is no escape from it. A week consists of 168 hours, and participation in the Pittsburgh Fellows takes up a sizable portion of my schedule. Everything from my full-time job, weekly commitments to the St Stephen’s Church student ministry, regular business and service roundtables, mentor meetings, and group gatherings like retreats and house dinners add up fast. The question I asked myself all year is: Is it a good thing for a Christian to be busy? I argue

During our Highlands Battery Assessment Retreat, Pastor Cameron Barham used the phrase “good selfishness.” It was a new concept for me; I had never thought that selfishness could be directed for good. Yet this idea has stuck with me ever since. Humans are inherently selfish. We are wired with preferences, motivations, strengths, and blind spots. It’s a reality we can’t ignore. Jesus calls us to be aware of this in ourselves and to practice sacrificial love, to lay down our li

No one ever tells you that one of the most essential parts of your life is learning how to fail. Whether big or small, you will make mistakes. That reality has been ever present this year as I have been working in my first post-grad professional position. For most of my academic career, things felt predictable. If you learned a teacher’s expectations, knew the syllabus, and studied, you could achieve the desired outcome. There were benchmarks and examples at every turn. Ther

As Pittsburgh Fellows, we have the privilege of partaking in Fellows Fridays. On these Fridays, the morning is carved out for discussions of Christian formational topics, and the afternoon is dedicated to volunteer work, excursions into Pittsburgh, or other growth opportunities. Kicking off 2026, the Fellows have spent these mornings diving into Dallas Willard’s book Renovation of the Heart . The book highlights putting on the character of Christ, apprenticeship to Jesus, and

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” A question I feel everyone has been asked before at some point. From my experience being on both sides of that question, when you ask a toddler, they often have an answer that makes you think, “Man, that would be cool if possible.” As we get older, for some, that answer becomes drastically more realistic and concrete. But not all of us are as lucky. I was fortunate to grow up with parents who heavily encouraged my siblings and me to

When you hear the word “worship” what do you think of? Do you think of standing in church singing hymns or dancing before the Lord? Do you think of hands raised in the air, the clapping of hands, and singing to the heart of Christ? Do you think of preaching the gospel overseas? While all these things are certainly considered worship, that isn’t the full picture. Worship is a way of life. My perspective of worship has drastically evolved over the past couple years through divi

As a Pittsburgh Fellow, I have been learning a lot in our Tuesday Roundtables. One of the big takeaways for me is changing the way I view work. I used to view work as just a way to make money, but now I am understanding that work is my ministry. Work is a place where I can be a light and reflect God’s glory by doing excellent work. Even performing a simple task with excellence helps my team reach a goal faster. The following Scripture verse helps me remain focused on this gre

I have always been a planner. Since I was in middle school, I knew what college I wanted to go to, what my degree would be, the type of job I would have, and even the car I would drive. While a 2015 Subaru Forester was not what I expected to end up with, I did follow the path of graduating from Grove City College with a degree in Computer Science and joining the Pittsburgh Fellows program. As my time at Grove City was ending, I had a couple of concerns pertaining to my futur

As a participant in the Pittsburgh Fellows program, I've had the incredible opportunity to dive deep into the heart of Pittsburgh. Working full-time while also serving multiple times a month in various parts of the city has ignited an excitement within me to explore Pittsburgh's unique neighborhoods. So far, we have visited multiple neighborhoods within the city either to serve or learn about them. From the trendy streets of Lawrenceville to the bustling atmosphere of Downtow

Coming into my Fellows year, I realized that I was leaving almost everything that I knew behind, including my friends from James Madison University and my family from Sterling, Virginia. Everything and everyone that I knew was going to be a five hour-drive away. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t even slightly worried about what community would look like with the move and this complete change. But, by the grace of God, I can confidently say that the community has been a

There is a refrain about the education system everyone will recognize: that schools don’t teach “life skills” and that classrooms should have taught people how to do their taxes before teaching them trigonometry. To be fair, I have never once used trigonometry in my daily life, but that is completely missing the point of education as a force for the enrichment of life. The kernel of truth these jokes do hold, however, is that many students leave higher education with speciali

“Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.” — Romans 12:4-5 (CSB) Growing up, I was often told that I could be anything I wanted to be. While that message was meant to empower me, it also carried a heavy weight — the pressure of infinite possibilities, constantly achieving something, to meet expectations, and to prove myself through