The Fellows Program
Pittsburgh Fellows is a nine-month leadership development program that launches college graduates into a successful career and teaches them how to fully integrate faith and work. Fellows work in competitively paid positions in their chosen career field while living in an intentional Christian community, learning, growing, serving and supporting one another as they seek to grow spiritually, professionally and personally. We provide fully-furnished homes with private bedrooms and welcoming communal areas for Fellows to develop deep, personal relationships not just for the nine months of our program, but for life.
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Our homes are located in Sewickley, PA, a charming, walkable small town just outside of the city and in close proximity to shopping, coffee shops, biking and hiking trails, fitness facilities and many other amenities.
Work Placements
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What does it mean to integrate faith and work? How do you lay the foundation for a meaningful career? Navigating the transition from college to professional life can seem overwhelming. You don't need to do it alone.
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Pittsburgh Fellows work four days a week in their chosen career field. Real work. Real pay. We offer opportunities in many roles, including, but not limited to, marketing, HR, business development, finance, project management, sales and more. Positions are available in a wide range of industries, from software to trucking, health care to fund administration. Pittsburgh-based employers partner with us to help you launch your career well, using your skills and interests to contribute to the success of your company and providing exceptional opportunities to learn and grow. You will be supported and challenged as you learn to live a life that seamlessly integrates faith and work.
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Want to remain with your company after the program? Fellows typically receive offers of full-time employment at the conclusion of their Fellows year. If you decide to look elsewhere, our network is available to help you land that next job.
Mentoring
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As we said, you don't need to go it alone. Our experienced business professionals are committed to helping you achieve your goals. All Fellows are paired with business mentors and have the opportunity to regularly meet and develop relationships with many other business leaders throughout the course of the program. These connections often develop into long-term relationships that continue well beyond the Fellows year.
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Classes
Fridays are class days geared toward providing a strong foundation of spiritual growth and leadership development. Learning takes place through discussions, field trips, meetings with business leaders, case studies and selected readings.
God's Story, The World's Story and My Story - Fall Semester. Instructor: Lauren Scharf
Everyday our culture is telling us a powerful story about life, truth, goodness and meaning. For better or worse, this story shapes how we define and live our lives. The Bible tells another powerful story, one that is often at stark odds with the story offered to us by the world. In this class we will look critically at both stories. We will examine the cultural influences affecting our creeds, our life and our faith. We will also learn how to read and examine the Biblical Story and seek to understand the claim God places on our lives. Which story is worthy of our allegiance? How can we become active rather than passive participants in that story?
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City and Servant Leadership - Fall Semester. Instructor: Julie McCormick
Believing God calls all followers of Christ to a particular place, City and Servant Leadership demonstrates the value and potential of knowing and serving a city, using Pittsburgh as our paradigm. Through interactive tours, discussions, and meetings with business and civic leaders, Fellows will discover the history, current trends, and growth opportunities of our city, developing a vision and strategy for serving the city with the whole of their lives.
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Leadership Formation - Spring Semester. Instructor: Vince Burens
This course is designed to help you learn, discuss, and practice various approaches and methodologies related to leadership. Built on the understanding that leadership is influence, and that God regularly puts us in situations where we can influence others, Fellows will be equipped to examine and understand their own leadership capacity and prepare a personal leadership development plan in order to most effectively lead and influence others in a way that glorifies God.
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Loving God: Spiritual Formation and the Christian Life - Spring Semester. Instructor: Lauren Scharf
In this course, we will study the characteristics of God and the ancient spiritual disciplines that can draw us into a greater love and knowledge of the Lord. This course will rely on engagement with our material outside of class as we put some of these disciplines into practice.
The Rev. Lauren Scharf is an ordained priest in the ACNA (Anglican Church of North America) and has served this region in ministry for the last eighteen years. She most recently served as the Assist. Rector of All Saints, Cranberry. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Ministry with a focus on practical discipleship in the local church. She loves teaching the Fellows because it is such a delight to watch and play a small part in the spiritual formation of the next generation of Christian leadership! Lauren and her husband, Chris, live near Sewickley with their two young children.
Vince Burens is a Senior Consultant with The Focus Group. An executive leader with 20+ years experience, he serves as the Chairman of the Pittsburgh Fellows Board. Vince lives in Pittsburgh with his wife and two daughters.
