How alum Stephen Logue lives out faith at work…

Erica: Steve, tell me about your work. What exactly do you do?

Steve: I’m the Associate Director of Development (Major Gifts Officer) for Penn State, which is a fancy name for a fundraiser. My charge is to raise support at a level of gifts $100,000 or above—that I make at least 5 of those $100K asks per year. I go and meet PSU alumni (mostly Agricultural Science alums) at their homes, jobs, for coffee, at a restaurant—wherever is most convenient for them. I’m meeting someone on a dairy farm this week, actually.

Erica: Very cool. What’s a typical day-in-the-life of your job?

Steve: Great question. I’m in one of two places: either in my office or anywhere up and down the east coast meeting with alumni.

When here, I’m in front of my computer answering and sending hoards of emails, on the phone making cold calls for visits or following up with folks I’ve already met with, meeting with department heads/faculty, meeting with my unit and our division leaders, reporting on my alumni visits and prospecting for my next trip.

When I’m on the road, I’m driving as far out as Columbus OH or Blacksburg, VA, or flying south to SC, GA or FL to meet with our alumni and supporters. There are some non-PSU people out there who also support us, including an OSU (!) alum turned PSU-supporter who I work with. Most of my time is spent in PA where our alumni are concentrated. I drive thousands and thousands of miles each year.

Erica: What do you like most about your work?

Steve: I enjoy helping folks realize their philanthropic passions – connecting them to Penn State in a way most meaningful to them. This work actually “works”—people really give, when approached in the right way!

I like meeting with fellow PSU alums. I make hundreds of introductions with new people each year, each with their own stories and experiences. Sharing memories of campus and hearing about their lives post-graduation is exciting. It’s always fun when I discover someone I’m meeting with is a believer, too. Once, I met a guy who is a member of the Gideons—the folks who place Bibles in hotel rooms, among other things. I use those Bibles!

Erica: What could do without in your job?

Steve: I enjoy driving/flying long distances and seeing new places (this part hasn’t gotten old, not sure if it ever will). But if not in a meeting, I spend hours upon hours alone in a car/at a hotel. I thrive off of social interaction, so the loneliness can be demoralizing at times. But having alone time with Jesus is good too. He and I talk a lot, especially on those longer drives. This is the major upside—He’ll never leave us or forsake us no matter how far out we go! (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5)

Erica: What are some of the other opportunities to live out your faith at work?

Steve: Character witness is a great way to live out my faith. Knowing who I am in Christ helps me stay true to the Creator of all, and it’s my hope through this that others will see His love in me and yearn to know Him more themselves. I’m not one to gossip. I don’t boast in my performance (we’re only to boast in the Lord); we do have to give an account of our tasks at yearly review, but God will make sure the important people see the good work we do.

I’ll share what I’ve done over the weekend—my colleagues know I play music on our worship team at church or that I’ve gone on a mission trip. Also, I’m friends with many of them on Facebook, so they can see my faith life lived out “outside” of work. Since I work for the Lord (Colossians 3:17, 23), I trust that the fruit of my labor will reflect Him to others also.

A quick snippet from a previous job—I had some great colleagues who knew my faith and apologized whenever they swore in front of me (c’mon now, like I’ve never heard or said a bad word myself). But they understood who I was and were convicted of their “profane” speech when I was around…

Erica: How has your faith been an asset to you on the job?

Steve: Ha—it’s easy to get stressed about work. Work is hard. It has the potential to produce gray hair and heart problems. But I tend to see each new day as an opportunity, remembering that He who made the day and gave me breath will get me through even the most unfavorable meetings, interactions, or projects. He’ll protect me and be with me on the long lonesome road. Remembering who I’m ultimately working for (God) makes me actually enjoy my job and embrace the challenges as an adventure. Faith makes me smile a genuine smile…and be thankful that I have been blessed with a job to do.

Erica: What’s been the most surprising aspect of transitioning from college to career? The hardest? The best?

Steve: I never especially liked homework or writing papers, so it’s good to be done with those. The best part is the freedom to do whatever I want outside of the work day. It’s like the feeling of being done with classes for the day and having no more coursework to do through the evening—or weekend! Kinda great.

The difficulty of finding new friends was hands-down one of the most surprising things about being a grown-up. In college, it’s so easy. There are hundreds of organizations to be a part of and meet people. Or classes where peers can become besties. Friends are pretty much assigned to you with little effort in actually seeking them out. In my post-college experience, it’s been the opposite. I’ve had to go above, beyond, and out of my way to find wholesome friends.

Erica: What’s one thing you wish you would have known as a senior about to enter the world of work? 

Steve: The phrase “working professional” comes to mind. It was my first week on the job that I remember learning about being a professional through how vacation time does and doesn’t work. Coming from out of state, I had to get all kinds of new paperwork—bank accounts, car insurance, new license, plates, and so on—and most businesses are only open from 8am-5pm on weekdays. Over a few days I had to skip out an extra hour here or there to handle life, so kept asking my boss how I should mark time. I think it was Friday that he finally sat me down at his desk and described this whole “working professional” thing (and being salaried). He explained that he trusts me, and as long as I’m getting my work done, he wasn’t as concerned if I marked down every little minute I was away from my desk. He knew that I’d continue to show up and do my tasks. And I did.

I quickly learned that I would be held to a standard of being a high performing team member right out of the gate, even if I was least experienced person on the team. I was still a member of team, entrusted immediately to do the work I was hired to do. Since that first week, I knew it was critical to show up for work on time consistently, not abuse breaks, and when seen, be seen with a keen focus on completing the task before me. Through this and more, I do my best to serve as a working professional in all areas of my job, giving glory to God as I do my work.

Questions:

• How will you prepare to live out your faith at work?
• What temptations will you plan to resist at work?
• How will you give honor God in your daily job responsibilities?