Hello Charlotte Fellows blog and a belated hello to 2023! I still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact that it is already 2023 and we are halfway through the fellows program. If I think about it for too long I’ll get sad, so for now we will just ignore this and focus on the good. 

The past six months have sort of felt like learning to ride a bike. The training wheels are off, but there is still someone there to catch you when you fall. The Charlotte Fellows Program has allowed each of us the time to discern what the Lord is calling us to and welcomed us into a community that is ready to support us.

Yooooo! What’s up CLT Fellows Fam! As my first blog post, I thought there would be no better way to start than to tell you how I got here.

Since high school, I have been involved in Chick-fil-A and Young Life. Both of these experiences allowed me to grow in my faith and as an individual. In the spring semester of my senior year, I considered pursuing both of these avenues post-grad. I thought I knew what was next, but I was wrong.

The Charlotte Fellows Program has brought me more than I could’ve imagined. Each week is busy and full of engagement, challenges, and new experiences. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It would be hard for me to see one of our weekly commitments taken off the schedule. I would be less busy, sure. But I would miss out on many of the opportunities and growth that is taking place. 

Fellows life is full. My weeks are full of good things: a job where I get to contribute to the work of an awesome ministry (shoutout to the Eagles!), a seminary class, professional development opportunities, visiting nonprofits, volunteering at an after-school program, and time in the Word and in fellowship with my fellow fellows.

As college began to dwindle to a close and I embarked on senior year marked by “lasts'' and overflowing with “final this” and “final that,” I began to reluctantly anticipate graduation and the loss that would undoubtedly coincide with it. As my friends and I walked through our many “lasts” of college, I began to pinpoint why I was feeling such a severe sense of loss; it was a loss of community.