Creative work is a famously double-edged sword, equal parts difficult and illuminating. In the face of all the anxieties swirling around our planet, creating meaningful work may be more challenging and more important than ever. We’re asking our creative community to share how they’re making art right now. First up, recent graduate, Dori Cawley.

Even though Summer Community of Writers— Chatham’s MFA in Creative Writing Program’s innovative yearly writing retreat— was cancelled this year due to COVID-19, the program is still going strong, together. We chat with MFA Creative Writing Program Director Sheila Squillante about how the MFACW program is crafting community from a safe distance, and what they’re looking forward to in the fall.

There is no way around it, looking for a job right now can be intimidating and uncertain. So Director of Career Development, Kate Sheridan is here to the rescue. Check out Kate’s expert tips for entering the job market right now.

The last time we talked with James Snow, MSUS ’14, he was a project manager at a community development company then called GTECH (now Grounded Strategies). Now he is Development Director at Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC), overseeing individual, foundation, government, and corporate giving.

“I have many dream jobs,” laughs Julia Saintz, MSUS ’19, “but this is one of them.”

“One of the things that Downtown Pittsburgh struggles with is that people don’t think of it as a neighborhood—but it is,” says alumna Caitlin Fadgen, Master of Sustainability + MBA ’17. That’s what she aims to change in her work with Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP).

Move over Marvel—The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh is reimagining what it means to be a superhero with the CHUTZ-POW! comic book series. Coming Soon to an Art Gallery Near You!

Alumna Feyisola Akintola explains that her Master of Sustainability + MBA Dual Degree taught her to push boundaries and make a difference in her role as Special Initiatives Manager for Mayor Bill Peduto at the City of Pittsburgh.

Master of Sustainability student Hannah Blinn was guided by Falk School faculty to an internship opportunity with the Environmental Health Project, where she’s able to combine her passion for sustainability, data analytics, and public health.

First year, Carlee Shreve’s burgeoning tie-dye t-shirt business, Trippy Tees and More, caught the eye of Pittsburgh’s beloved craft fair, Handmade Arcade and earned her a 2019 Youth Maker Scholarship.

It’s not every day we hear a Chatham love story. Bret & Lauren’s is all the more compelling because of their shared passion—military psychology. Check out their Q&A to learn how they met, what it’s like to be a military psychologist, and more!

In 2019, it’s surprising to hear anyone say the words “I love politics.” But Vice President of Wilkinsburg Borough Council Vanessa McCarthy-Johnson ’18, MBA ’19, credits her passion for government as the catalyst that led to her seeking not one, but two degrees from Chatham—that, and her four daughters.