Culver Academies fellows program offers diverse opportunities in classroom, student life, athletics
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Posted By: Kevin Schmidt on February 03, 2026 Justin Brandon says accepting a teaching fellow position at Culver Academies 25 years ago helped set him on a course to becoming head of schools at George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Now in his second year in that role, he says the Culver fellows program not only taught him to be a teacher, but also enabled him to coach football, basketball and track and interact with cadets in their barracks. The experience convinced Brandon he wanted to pursue a career at an independent school. “It was just a great way to really understand independent schools,” Brandon said. The program at Culver, an elite leadership-oriented boarding school, gives fellows a chance to explore career opportunities at an independent boarding school. Most Culver fellows are interested in exploring a career in teaching, but the program also offers fellowships in areas such as wellness, communications, theatre, technology and athletics. Brandon said the fellows program allowed him to be viewed as an equal to other instructors at Culver, giving him the opportunity to attend meetings that few other young teachers can. “We were exposed to so many different kinds of meetings about programming, about curriculum, about student life, about athletics, and that was very helpful for me to get a sense of how a school functions and how a school makes decisions,” he said. “I appreciate Culver creating so many opportunities and so many spaces for us to learn about who we were and who we were becoming.” A number of Culver employees started as fellows, including Dean of Faculty Josh Pretzer, humanities chairman John Rogers, senior math instructor Bill Murchie and senior dance instructor Emily Fought, wellness senior instructor and head athletic trainer Ryan Fought, assistant athletic director Sarah Smith and Alan Loehr, director of stewardship. Former fellow Leah Peluchiwski, now in her fourth year as an English teacher at The Frederick Gunn School in Connecticut, said she entered her senior year at the University of Notre Dame unsure of her career path. She applied for the fellows program after meeting Culver master instructor Ed Kelley at a career fair. “I was interested in education. The things I had done leading up to that point were a lot of mentoring, I taught sailing over the summers, I was a writing tutor. So a lot of things were circling around education,” she said. “I think the fellows program was interesting because I didn’t feel ready to jump into the deep end of teaching. The fellows program seemed like a good steppingstone into that environment.” In addition to working in their chosen academic field, fellows assist with extracurricular activities, such as athletics teams, wellness and fine arts. Shannon Master ’19, who majored in game design with a concentration in sound design at Indiana University, wanted to be a theatre fellow because there is still a lot more to learn. “I worked in a theatre all through college, but I mostly focused on lights. I felt there was a lot more I could learn about sound and set design and other things. But also, the theatre was such a home for me when I was a student at Culver, and I really want to contribute to making it a home for students now and for students in the future,” Master said. Master believes the biggest advantage of being a fellow is the learning experience. “It is definitely geared toward helping me grow in my craft and learning how to teach. For example, in my college job I was learning a lot, but it was from watching other people do their work and mirroring that. Here, if I’m not sure how to do something, then we make time to teach me how to do it so I can then teach the students,” Master said. Culver mentors help fellows learn the basics of teaching and coaching methodologies, classroom management and group dynamics, as well as parent/student relationships. They start by watching their mentors, then they take over that class with their mentors providing support. Brandon was a senior at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, majoring in political science and African American studies. He ran several community tutoring programs and took some education classes and decided he wanted to pursue a career in education. He thought the fellows program at Culver would help him accomplish that goal. He started at Culver in humanities teaching history, coaching freshman football, freshman basketball and track, and living with Battery A, working with then-counselor Dan Davidge, now a master wellness instructor. “It was a great way to get exposure to so many different aspects of school,” Brandon said. Peluchiwski said it initially took four hours to prepare to teach an 85-minute class of Global Perspectives. She said teachers at most schools have to plan for a minimum of four classes. She said that to be able to plan for one class with 10 students was a luxury. “You get to spend more time with them and get to build a community in the classroom,” Peluchiwski said. Brandon said he learned that sometimes when he thought he planned the perfect lesson plan, it wasn’t as good as he thought. “Our students wouldn’t understand what I was trying to do,” he said. “Or I would organize a lesson that I thought would last the entire length of the period, but the students were able to connect the dots quicker than I thought.” Lou Canelli, Culver’s fellows coordinator, said the fellows program also benefits mentors. “It forces you as the mentor to be much more explicit about why you're doing what you're doing, so you get to reflect every day on your own teaching practice and habits and kind of interrogate them to make sure you actually have good reasons for doing what you are doing,” Canelli said. “Our adult culture benefits from having a cohort of fellows every year because they're pushing us to be better.” Canelli said the fellows program also helps the instructors at Culver do a better job of teaching. “People are eager to work with fellows to help them develop, but also to learn from them,” Canelli said. The fellows also meet with other instructors in that department. “They are learning with us about issues such as artificial intelligence and how to be better trusted adults,” Canelli said. Connor Button, who graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and history, is a humanities fellow this year. He initially worked as a consultant for seven months, then taught for two years in Spain. He said the advantage of being a Culver fellow is that it provides pay, a furnished dormitory apartment, and all the benefits of full-time employees, including free meals and insurance. “For me, all my physical, social and health needs are met every day. All I have to be responsible for is eating well, working out and going to bed on time. All I have to do is focus on being my best self in class.” The fellows meet regularly with Canelli to discuss challenges. They also frequently dine together. “You are with a fellow group of young people who are all doing similar work to you that’s interesting that you can all share,” Button said. “It creates an incredibly positive social experience that is probably unparalleled by any of our peers. We have this magical social experience. It’s because of the mixed nature of living and working together doing meaningful things.” Master discovered how enjoyable it is to work with high school students. “It feels really good to make a difference in these kids’ lives. I love the community that’s built here. It feels really good when I’m walking through campus and I hear a student call out and say, ‘Hi,’ ” Master said. “It’s such a wonderful sense of community.” Culver is accepting application for 2026-27 fellow positions. Those interested should contact Kevin Schmidt: kevin.schmidt@culver.org. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Kevin Schmidt
Talent Acquisition Specialist, Culver Academies - College Not Listed - class of 2000 Member Since December 2024 |
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