Spring Cohort: Faith & Vocation

Have you ever wondered how your faith connects to your work? Have you struggled to know what God is calling you to do with your life?

Join us for a spring cohort where we'll meet weekly to learn about the biblical vision of work and discuss how we can live thoughtful, coherent, lives of faithful service. This group will meet from 4 - 5 pm on Thursdays for a time of teaching and discussion.

Spring Schedule

  • Week 1: The Four-Chapter Gospel: What Story Are We Living In?

  • Week 2: Creation: God’s Design for Human Work

  • Week 3: Fall: Work Becomes Toil

  • Week 4: Redemption: Exiles in Babylon

  • Week 5: Consummation: Heralds of the Garden City

  • Week 6: Work in a Technological Society: Today’s Unique Challenges

  • Week 7: Anxiety, Burnout, & Stress: Our Posture Toward Work

  • Week 8: Spiritual Rhythms that Sustain: Sabbath Rest, Play, & Forming Healthy Habits

  • Week 9: Vocational Discernment: What Am I Going to Do With My Life?

  • Week 10: Christian Leadership: Spirit-filled Service

In addition to these weekly meetings, there will be a Vision Retreat in February and the opportunity to attend monthly dinners with Christian practitioners. Apply at the link below. Please contact Connor Porco at connor@ncstudycenter.org with any questions.

About the Wilberforce Leadership Program

WLP Goals

The Wilberforce Leadership Program (WLP) equips undergraduate students to live coherent lives of deep faith, thoughtful influence, and service. We explore the meaning of work, encourage students to assess their own unique gifts, and connect students with like-minded practitioners in diverse spheres of life. Our hope is to see students serve and lead at Carolina and beyond.

Who is involved

Along with staff from the North Carolina Study Center, a steering committee of practitioners in the UNC community has provided helpful advice.

WLP 24-25 SCHEDULE

The WLP will have two cohort tracks for the 2024-2025 school year, with the hope that each track will offer meaningful and relevant content and rhythms for the different stages of the undergraduate journey. There will also be monthly dinners for anyone involved or interested in the WLP program.

WLP Monthly Dinners with Practitioners

  • Monthly on Thursdays @ 5:30pm

    • September 12th

    • October 4th

    • November 7th

    • November 21st

  • Open to prospective WLP Year 1 Cohort applicants, WLP Year 2 Cohort members, and any former WLP students

  • Speakers will share about what they do, their stories, and field questions during Q&A time

WLP Year 1 Cohort (Spring 2025) - Faith & Vocation Seminar

  • Weekly gathering on Thursdays @ 4pm in the Spring Semester

  • Participate in monthly WLP dinners

  • Vision Retreat, February 2025

WLP Year 2 Cohort (Fall 2024) - Leadership and Executive Coaching Lunches

  • Weekly gathering on Fridays @ 12pm in the Fall Semester

  • Participate in monthly WLP dinners

  • Vision Retreat, February 2025

Supplemental resources available to WLP participants

  • Access to growing alumni database for internship and job connections

  • Peer Mentorship through Student Advisory Council

  • Mentorship opportunities through The 12 & Lydia Group

  • Resume, LinkedIn, Application coaching 

  • Study Center staff support & guidance

  • Personality, gifting, strength assessment & tools 

WLP SUMMER

Students have their choice to apply for summers where they can exhibit leadership in the marketplace or nonprofit sector. Past students have worked with Bank of America, Sovereigns Capital, Young Life camps, Edify, Middleground Capital, Northwestern Mutual, and various other challenging and rewarding opportunities.

The summer of 2025 is offering a Mission House in Nairobi, Kenya, where students work or volunteer for a month in education, medicine, or business while having an immersive experience in Kenya. Find out more about the WLP Mission House here.

Regardless of their internship, students are encouraged to approach their work thoughtfully alongside industry advisors, Study Center staff, and coaches from the UNC faculty, student, and practitioner community.

Students meet over Zoom during the summer, pooling experiences and encouraging one another. At the end of the summer, students are taught to reflect constructively on their summer and to consider what they have learned about God, his mission, and themselves.

Program Priorities

  1. Give students an expanded vision for mission and work

  2. Encourage students to assess their own gifts, personal trajectory, and vocations

  3. Connect students with one another and with a network of motivated practitioners

  4. Teach students to glorify God in their spheres of influence.

WLP leadership students on a vision trip to Atlanta in November of 2021.

Questions?

If you have questions or want to discuss the Wilberforce Leadership Program
further, please contact Madison Perry at madison@ncstudycenter.org
or Connor Porco at connor@ncstudycenter.org.