Summer Fellowships in Community Development

Students work at the Painted Turtle Farm

Students learn from beekeeper at Sherfy Garden

Students introduce pets to community members

Students at the Gettysburg Senior Center


The Center for Public Service works our local community partners in  Gettysburg to provide summer fellowship opportunities to students who spend eight weeks learning about and engaging in the work of community action. Through working on food security with the Latinx community in Gettysburg, Fellows will have the opportunity to develop strong relationships and learn how to tackle some our community's most challenging issues. This Fellowship is made possible through ongoing gifts from James Heston ’70 and reflects Gettysburg College’s commitment to experiential learning and community impact.

Fellows will be paired with a community partner, where they will focus 30 hours per week on community development and sharpening their understanding of the complexity of social issues.

In addition, each Fellow will spend 10 hours per week developing and implementing their own learning plan. Each plan will differ based on the Fellow's interest, and could be a research question, a community-based project, an artistic work, or anything that extends the summer learning.

Program Components

The Fellowship consists of the following components, which aim to provide students with the support needed to implement successful, sustainable projects in partnership with their host organization.

Orientation: Students meet with other CPS Fellows throughout the Spring semester, to engage in learning and dialogue around issues related to community development. Working with a CPS staff member, each Fellow will develop their individual learning plan during this time, which they will execute during the summer.

Host Organization Orientation: Students are introduced to their host organization and staff to gain a full understanding of the resources, people and projects currently in progress.

Community Work: Each Fellow will work closely in the ongoing work of one or more community partners. This work will average 30 hours per week, leaving time for Fellows to read, research, and write for their individual learning plan.

Ongoing Education, Training and Reflection: Learning about social issues as well as developing professional skills in intentional ways are vital to developing and managing a sustainable work plan. Participants will meet regularly with a CPS staff member to discuss their learning plan and reflect upon experiences, ensuring the link between the theoretical and practical. This will help students deepen their understanding of themselves and the process of community development.

Celebration/Presentation of Projects: All participants will give a brief presentation to CPS professional staff and community partners at the conclusion of the fellowship. There are myriad options for the content of the presentation; examples include a report on research conducted during the summer, a product created for a community partner, a creative work reflecting a participant’s learning.