As the first semester of my senior year came to an end, I was searching for a post-graduation adventure, more specifically, a job. I spent the previous three and a half years working towards a business degree in finance and accounting at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, learning the ins and outs of corporate finance, investment analysis, financial accounting, and a myriad of other business frameworks. All of this preparation helped me obtain a prestigious summer analyst position in investment banking at the end of my junior year. However, during that summer of scanning annual reports and pulling "all nighters," I decided that my progression into the "real world" existed outside the realm of Wall Street.

When I received an e-mail from my career services office about the USGA Fellowship, I began to think about my own development through the game of golf. Throughout middle and high school, my life revolved around the game. I worked at the DuBois Country Club for seven years and caddied for a past Pennsylvania Amateur champion. In my spare time, I played as many holes as daylight would permit. I thought it would be incredible to give economically disadvantaged children the opportunity to develop from the game like I did. Upon receiving an invitation to selection weekend and spending time with the fellows, I hoped my adventure would commence in Colorado Springs.

The real experience of working in the USGA Grants and Fellowship program has exceeded my expectations. From the first day in the office, I dealt with an enormous amount of responsibility, ranging from evaluating grants to instructing youth at our fellow-run junior golf program. To help me with this challenge, I was assigned a mentor, a second year-fellow, who helped guide me through the intricacies of orientation. Through my mentor and the other second-year fellows, I have learned many lessons about work, such as how to properly evaluate a budget, and about life as well.

Working with USGA grant applicants has given me an opportunity to witness, through the eyes of our program directors, how non-profit organizations function. It has also allowed me to observe how USGA-supported programs make a difference in participants' lives. One program, for example, has helped to revitalize a run-down community in urban Atlanta. This upcoming year, four participants from the program will be attending college on golf scholarships, making them the first members of their family to enroll in college.

The Outreach Programs have given me an opportunity to provide an input on projects that affect golf programs throughout the country and that provide fellows the freedom to develop strategic plans and follow them through to implementation. These projects range in scope from compiling an informational database for individuals with disabilities to obtaining one-dollar course access for USGA-supported program participants.

Through these experiences and the professional development curriculum, I learn and master new skills every day that are transferable into any profession I pursue after the fellowship. However, the majority of my experience is still ahead of me. I am excited to continue my personal and professional growth through the fellowship, but, more importantly, I look forward to improving participants' lives through the game of golf.

Erica Goodman - First-Year Fellow (Started June 2006)

There are times in our lives when everything seems to fall into place. The fall of my senior year at Middlebury College was unfortunately not one of those times. Email reminders from the career services office highlighted applications for financial positions on Wall Street and language study opportunities abroad, but nothing seemed to fit my own goals and interests. As my classmates buzzed with excitement over these various prospects, I searched for something more.

In October 2005, I had the unique opportunity to attend the International Summit on Effecting Social Change through Women's Leadership in Sports in Atlanta. The conference, put on by the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee, left me with a striking impression and a remarkable expectation of what participation in athletics can do to foster the personal development of an individual. A few days discussing the benefits of sport among representatives from throughout the world confirmed what I had already learned through my own experiences as an athlete - sport can change lives.

A quick career search for "sport and service" and I came across the USGA Fellowship in Leadership and Service. Since joining the Fellowship, the pieces have interlocked perfectly in an environment that provides the opportunity for benevolent outreach and personal growth. I work each day helping individuals who are using USGA awarded funds to run golf programs that reach individuals, who without our support, would not otherwise have the opportunity to play. Financial work has never been my forte, yet diving into the budget analysis of our supported programs and our own outreach office initiatives has taught me the workings of finances in the non-profit sector. Furthermore, the work I do for our Fellowship Outreach Programs give me the chance to interview individuals and write articles, learn the basics of Web site development, and work hands-on with youth in our own golf programs in Colorado Springs.

Working in an environment of young professionals who are enthusiastic about their work and are committed to a similar mission creates an ideal setting for me to learn the ins and outs of professional life. In each day on the job, I see the results of the USGA's efforts. The honesty and integrity inherent in the game of golf is a core value shared by all the members in our office, regardless of experience with the sport. These values learned through golf can serve as a base for social change and I am fortunate to do my part as a Fellow to be a part of that endeavor.

Kristin Lynch - Second-Year Fellow (Started June 2005)

When people find out that I had never swung a golf club before getting this job, they are understandably surprised, considering I work for the governing body of golf. I am constantly asked about my golf background and knowledge (or lack thereof), and, to be quite honest, I am fairly surprised as well.

The connection for me is athletics. I've been part of a sports team for pretty much my entire life, and I have a deep appreciation for the formative impact that athletics in general, and golf in specific, can have on youth and individuals with disabilities. Since I have begun working for the USGA, I have grown to really understand how golf is different than any other sport I have been involved in - it truly breeds and instills character-enhancing values for anyone who participates and I am honored to be part of a program that works to spread the game, and those values, to non-traditional populations.

But, to get back to what I was saying - if you had told me going into my senior year of college that I would be eventually working for the USGA, I would not have believed you (I'm not even sure I would have known what that acronym stood for). But, as I was contemplating career paths, something really intrigued me about the USGA Fellowship. As a senior, for me, the only thing that was certain was that I did not want to follow the traditional path of my Ivy League peers that led straight to investment banking and consulting careers. The urge to do something different was strong and for a while I even considered rejecting employment altogether and becoming a nomadic world traveler for a year. But, alas, I stumbled upon the Fellowship opportunity and decided to pursue it, still not completely cognizant of all that it entailed.

The deal-breaker for me was Selection Weekend, where the 25 finalists for the position were flown out to Colorado Springs for more intensive interviews with management and Fellows. After that weekend I was hooked - primarily because of the people. I could really "feel" myself being a part of the program and it was pretty much a no-brainer once I received the offer.

Looking back from my perspective now, as a Second-Year Fellow, I still have no regrets. The Fellowship has lived up to my expectations, and then some. It has truly been a one-of-a-kind growing opportunity. When I look back on the person I was when I began the Fellowship, the amount of development that has occurred has been enormous. Being exposed to a wide range of professional experiences that include consulting dozens of junior golf programs that the USGA supports in my region, acting as the Development Director for the non-profit junior golf program we run here in Colorado Springs, and as a leader of a comprehensive two-week training process designed to orient the new Fellows to the position has strengthened my skills in different roles, as well as helped me achieve focus in my career direction.

The people I work with daily have also been one of my favorite parts of the position. I work in an incredible environment filled with a dozen similarly motivated and dedicated young professionals committed to achieving our mission. It has been a continuous learning experience and a place that encourages and fosters innovative thinking in a collegial atmosphere. Although I am hopeful that this work environment will continue throughout all my future career positions, I understand how rare it truly is, and I think that uniqueness and rarity appropriately sums up this amazing opportunity.

Pat Sablich - Second-Year Fellow (Started June 2005)

I remember heading into my senior year at the University of Dayton like it was last week. As many of my classmates would have agreed at this time, I was perfectly content being a UD student for life. While I will always cherish my memories from college, I knew this feeling changed, and that I was ready to move on the day I found out about the USGA Fellowship.

I was visiting with a career services staff member to have my resume reviewed for basic grammar and layout, but what she offered in return was much more than that. She recognized my experience with the game of golf, and from our short conversation she knew I had an interest in a nonprofit career path. She told me what she knew about the Fellowship from a former UD student who was currently in the program. I was excited about everything she had to share. By the end of her explanation she had the phone in her hand and was calling that former student. Next thing I knew I was talking to him and asking him every question about being a Fellow that I could think of. The application and interviewing process was challenging, but a good learning experience in its own right. By March of my senior year I knew I would be joining the Fellowship that summer. Selection weekend had given me a good taste of the people and the type of work I would be involved with. The more I found out, the more I was ready to get to Colorado.

I think one of the great things about my Fellowship experience has been the transition it offers from college to professional life. For many of my friends in college, it was black and white; there was college and then there was "the real world". The Fellowship on the other hand, offers a demanding work environment, but one that is comprised of recent college graduates with a continued openness to learning experiences. The professional development component is the best example of the opportunity to learn from the Fellowship. We have had speakers and teachers share their experiences as experts in finance, nonprofit consulting, fundraising, negotiations, and entrepreneurship.

As a Fellow in the West region, I have worked with organizations that have received nearly $2 million during my time here. I have learned skills from reviewing grants that will make me an effective grant writer or a board member in the future. My interest in pursuing a career in the nonprofit world has grown stronger while at the USGA, and I now have a much better idea of how to have the biggest impact as a nonprofit leader.

I am fortunate to have found the values in the game of golf from the young age of 12 when I began caddying and playing the game. The USGA has made a significant contribution to assuring this opportunity to economically disadvantaged children and individuals with disabilities. It is a mission I am proud to work toward and an experience I will never forget.

When I researched the opportunity a little more in-depth I was shocked to learn that some people working for the USGA didn’t have a golf background at all. While my golf background was pretty extensive, I was quick to realize this job isn’t as much about clubs and courses as it is exposing the game and being able to help others. My concern became having shortfalls in business experience, but they were quickly alleviated when the Fellows explained that everyone in the office has strengths and weaknesses, and two years with the USGA would help me improve in any of those areas. The Fellows were an intricate part of my desire to work for the USGA.

There are very few places where you are a full-time employee working in an environment filled with peers of your own age. The young professionals within the USGA Fellowship intrigued me, but the hard working attitude sold me on the job. Within weeks of starting, my day at the office was booked with a meeting to plan the U.S. Open Junior Day, participating in a conference call about our Resource Center Web site, finishing a budget analysis and then going off to the golf course to do hands-on teaching at our own junior golf program. I knew it before I entered the Fellowship, but every day I have to ask, “who else is lucky enough to work in Colorado, help others and broaden their own professional skills within one job?”

I’d say that is the USGA Fellowship experience in a nutshell, but it isn’t. Simply stated there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t learn something new. Sometimes it is in the form of completing daily office work or a professional development class, and other times it is from helping to set up the course at a championship or traveling to speak at a conference. The best feeling you will ever get from this job is going and seeing one of your programs in action. Knowing that you helped spread the game and make a difference makes the Fellowship that much more special.

Stephanie Vandehey – Second-Year Fellow (started in June 2005)

In the fall of my senior year, I sat as a double major in American History and Rhetoric & Media Studies from Willamette University, and had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I knew I didn’t want to fall into a dead end long-term career and be stuck, I didn’t want to dive straight into graduate school without any “real world experience,” and I didn’t feel as though my majors had prepared me for anything in particular. When I found out about the Fellowship, the diverse responsibilities and opportunities that were available within the position, it seemed like a perfect marriage. The Fellowship allows me to explore the business world, while pursuing my education through valuable experiences and professional development opportunities.

I find the Fellowship to be such a unique opportunity because it demands work ethic, creativity, and a desire to help others through service. I found that my compassion and understanding for the non-profit sector has greatly grown as a result of my awareness of their pivotal roles in communities all across the country. I now understand that it takes more then a good heart to be successful. You must allow your motivation to be balanced with ambitions, organization, effort, and collaboration with all who surround you.

The Fellowship provides you the opportunity to explore and find a truly objective reality within you, in which you set aside personal thoughts for a more clear perspective. The amount of responsibility that is handed over right away and entrusted into your creative mind to develop is not like any other job.

Through the Fellowship I have learned that a positive attitude and openness to learn will help lead you to success in any path you take, no matter your education or history in that area. This opportunity to grow personally and professionally, with co-workers who are committed to a similar mission, while helping individuals teach tomorrow’s leaders, is the most rewarding job one could hope for.

Comments from Former Fellows