Program Components

The Caldwell Fellows program is a curriculum of both structured and self-designed experiences. Structured experiences - like the sophomore seminar, program-wide dinner seminars and class retreats - provide Fellows with a common foundation of learning and community along with structured mentoring that guides them in their selection of personalized development experiences.

Monthly Dinner Seminars

Recognizing that many of life’s most important conversations happen at the dinner table, every month, all classes of Fellows share a meal with one another around an annual program theme. Fellows are invited to join in thoughtful conversation that is often led by special guests of the program.

Sophomore Seminar

As sophomores, Caldwell Fellows partake in a semester-long course designed to lay the base layer of understanding of service-leadership, community engagement and reflection. It is during this seminar that a group of highly motivated individuals become a class and community of proactive problem solvers and creative thinkers.

Service-Learning Teams

Each sophomore is assigned a service learning team led by an upperclass Fellow. Every team is unique in its demands and have varied from an eco station in need of a new fence to an after school program in need of tutors. At the end of the semester, all teams are expected to present to their peers their reflections on the project.

Professional Coaching

A team of volunteer professional coaches provide one-on-one support and challenge to Caldwell Fellows during the semester of their Sophomore Seminar. Our trained coaching team includes Caldwell program alumni along and a wide network of executive coaches. The self-understanding supported by Caldwell Fellows coaches is foundational for students’ leadership development.

Center for Creative Leadership

As a capstone of the Caldwell Fellows program, upperclass students pursue three-days of leadership training at the International headquarters of the Center For Creative Leadership, in Greensboro, NC. The ‘CCL’ experience dates back more than 40 years, and inspiring generations of Caldwell Fellows alumni.

Class Retreats

Recommitment to the program and to fellow Caldwells is enabled through annual class retreats. Each retreat’s content corresponds to deepening the ongoing leadership curriculum of the program. Class retreats often feature alumni who give back to the program by dedicating time to offer their reflections to current Fellows.