It was the People.
It beats me why I was honored to write the last blog post for the Class 11 fellows. I can’t do the past nine months justice in a short blog post. I can talk about my work experience, host family, or what I’ve learned in class, but it won’t compare to what I lived out through the program. Most difficult of all, I struggle to put into words the people from this year and what they mean to me.
This was the first time in my life that I had the opportunity to walk in close community with fellow believers. Truthfully, at first, I didn’t like it. I am not someone who likes to be known, and I would much rather keep up a big wall to outsiders. John and the other fellows tried for months to tear down those walls and to get to know me. I don’t know at which point those walls came down, but looking back, I could not think of a better group to be known by. I did not have to perform for or earn their friendship. They wanted to get to know me for who I really was. I have never had before such a friendships where I had nothing to earn.
I am big on the philosophy that nothing is given to you and everything must be earned but the fellows proved to me that I am dead wrong. I never had to earn anything with the fellows and couldn’t think of a better reflection of the love of Christ. God’s love is freely given to us and can’t be earned. The fellows proved that to be true time and time again this year.
I can think of one occasion just about a month ago when it looked like I was going to miss the closing retreat. With the start of a new post-fellows job,, I didn’t know if I could swing it. Yet, John helped me to move my flight, and we found a way to pull it off. I shared the news with the fellows that Monday night at roundtable, and their reaction wasn’t what I expected. The excitement and joy that they showed were such a surprise to me. I was so honored to know how much they truly cared that I would be there. Yet again, just another perfect picture of God’s love.
What makes this program is the people. Yes, the classes, leadership luncheons, retreats, and all the other excellent parts of the program are worth the nine months alone. But when I reflect on this year, the high points are the people. What a blessing it was to be surrounded by such an amazing group.
Derek Blair, Class 11
Hometown: Mechanicsburg, PA
Graduate of the University of Pittsburgh
