Rising 3rd-year women are invited to apply for a unique leadership intensive, offering professional coaching and mentoring alongside a curriculum designed to complement seminary studies with material that helps build confidence and capacity around organizational leadership. This includes sessions on leadership identity, change management, and early career best practices.
Iron Sharpening Iron (ISI) equips women to embrace and build upon the capacities, agency and savvy they possess to negotiate challenging leadership contexts with a confidence born of competence. Drawing on best practices from leaders in church, business, public service and beyond, the program’s interdisciplinary curriculum serves the fundamental goal of promoting capable women to thrive in God’s calling in a way that has theological integrity and a sophisticated philosophy and practice.
The student experience includes the following:
- September 24 and 25
1.5 Day Accelerated Curricular Session - October 20
Dinner and Networking at ISI Fall Gathering - November Date TBD (Before Thanksgiving)
Mock Interview Exercise with Panel - 3 Sessions of Your Choosing
Match with a mentor from the broader ISI Network – chosen based on your preferences for denomination, locations, etc. (OPTIONAL)
This is an application-based program. The deadline for the 2026 Session is Friday, August 21, 2026, to be followed by a conversation with a member of the ISI Leadership Team.
>> Scroll down for the application.
Questions? Email ironsharpeningiron@ptsem.edu
Student testimonial
— Angela DiJoseph, MDiv ’26
Accelerated Curricular Session
FRIDAY, Sept. 24, 2026
5:30 – 7:30
Welcome Dinner + Orientation
SATURDAY, Sept. 25 2026
8:30 – 9
Breakfast
9:15 – 10
Opening Reflection
10 – 11:30
Leadership Identity
11:45 – 1
Lunch-and-Learn: Starting a New Job
1:15 – 2:30
Break
2:30 – 4
Coaching Session
4 – 4:30
Break
4:30 – 6
Change Management for Beginners
6 – 7
Dinner + Closing
Dinner + Networking
We kick off our fall curricular gathering with a reception and dinner. Student cohort members are invited to join us, meet ISI alumnae and current members of Class VII.
This year, we will also be hosting our bi-annual Alumnae Gathering, so participants will have the chance to connect with mentors from across the country.
Mock Interview Exercise
Practice matters—but practice with the right kind of feedback is what actually moves you forward. This mock interview experience gives you the chance to sharpen your responses in a realistic setting while receiving targeted, actionable insight from a diverse panel of interviewers.
Rather than guessing how you came across, you’ll leave with clear, specific feedback on your strengths, areas for growth, and how to better articulate your experiences and value. It’s a low-stakes environment designed to build confidence, refine your storytelling, and help you show up more prepared for the real thing.
“The whole experience was super helpful! The intensive helped me step into my identity as a professional minister. I feel like I can now talk about myself and my experiences with much more confidence and professionalism.”
— Lin Henke, MDiv ’26
