Joshua Gelfand - First-Year Fellow (Started June 2006)
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.
