For the Pittsburgh Flag Football League’s Devyn Swain and Jeremiah Davis, helping the city’s kids to become mature, well-rounded individuals is a hugely important task. This fall, in addition to working with the league, they’ll serve the students of Pittsburgh Public Schools as  members of the Heinz Fellows Program.

Initially started in 2011, the program has grown over time and now consists of 15 individuals selected from applicants all over the country. The group will be divided between several Hill District schools and work to set an example for the the city’s students while tutoring them in English, Language Arts and Mathematics.

According to Richard Milner, the director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh and a key member in the organization of this year’s class, almost 70 college graduates applied to be accepted into the program. He added that Swain and Davis were selected in part due to their experience working with kids at the PFFL.

“The fact that they already have volunteer experience [made them stand out],” Milner said. “They have demonstrated the ability to excel in the classroom, but also the ability to negotiate the athletics. Those are qualities that we really think our students can learn from ...”

And even though the two don’t know which of the schools they’ll end up at, they both said they would prefer to land at University Prep with middle and high school students. In particular, Swain has worked as a substitute teacher for grades six through 12 at Westinghouse Academy in Homewood. He thinks his experience there makes University Prep the best fit for him.

“After working with the kids at Westinghouse for two years, in that age range, I feel like [University Prep is] where I would be most effective,” Swain said. “I think I tend to do better with students that are in middle school and high school.”

But no matter where they go, they’re excited to help out the students, knowing they have years of experience to draw upon.

“The PFFL put me in a position not only working with kids, but through the coaching aspect of it, having to lead kids and having to learn how to manage kids and how to recognize different behaviors and different ways to teach them,” Davis said.

While mentoring and teaching the kids at school, the fellows will also learn various skills through the program. For one-and-a-half days a week, they’ll participate in various events, including meetings and conducting interviews with locals, to prepare them for the professional world.

According to the program’s website, one of the goals of the fellowship is to give the fellows an opportunity to enter the field of education after their time with the group is up.

“The program really has a dual role,” Milner said. “They will be learning and developing but they’re also working and contributing.”

Teaching isn’t the only path fellows can follow, though. They can pursue many occupations, and both Swain and Davis aren’t sure whether or not they’ll become teachers.

After this year, Davis — who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 with a degree in business marketing — plans on enrolling in graduate school. Swain, on the other hand, is still weighing his options, including the possibility of enrolling in a doctoral program in Pitt’s Center for Urban Education.

But right now, the two men are focused on being the best role models they can be and preparing to help the students with not only their academics, but their day-to-day lives as well. Even though they’ll only be around the kids during school hours, they want to be able to make an impact so that, when the kids go home, they can apply what they learned in school to everyday situations.

“I’m hoping that they can learn from our example and apply that sense of activism and advocacy to their own communities so that they can make their own neighborhoods a better place for them and their neighbors to live,” Swain said.

PFFL Staff Member Since 2013

PFFL Staff Member Since 2009