Tulsa Service Year
Join a team of recent college graduates for a year of high impact work in a city driven by innovation from a community of learners and doers like you.
Applications are now closed for 2021-2022
Join a team of recent college graduates for a year of high impact work in a city driven by innovation from a community of learners and doers like you.
Applications are now closed for 2021-2022
Tulsa Service Year wants the best, brightest, and most change-focused new college graduates to join us on the testing ground of social strategies for a year of service work. Our promise is to help you grow as much as possible.
Catalyze your career with a year of hands-on, high-impact work in a city driven by innovation and entrepreneurship.
Catalyze your community by learning and working alongside creative, ambitious, passionate thinkers like you.
Catalyze Tulsa, a city that welcomes your bold, imaginative ideas to address our nation’s most pressing challenges.
As I've grown up in Tulsa, I've seen the city grow along with me. In only a few short years, Tulsa has grown into a place that I'm excited to show off to my friends when they visit, and a city that I'm proud to call home. I moved to Washington DC for college so that I could explore a city completely unlike anything I had ever experienced. But as I have come back to visit Tulsa, I have discovered that the same things that excite me about DC can be found right here at home (minus the traffic). Tulsa is a place where you will make an immediate impact, and where your network will connect you to all corners of the city. Whether you're interested in arts and culture, social innovation, or public service, your life will be touched by all of these things and more as you get plugged in to the wave of change that is pushing Tulsa into the future.
Start date in August
Annual salary (which goes a long way in Tulsa)
Signing bonus to be used for relocation
Friendships and connections with influential Tulsans, as well as skills for a high impact career
I am constantly reminded how thankful I am to be living and working in a mid-sized city in the middle of the United States. As someone who grew up in a small town in the Midwest, I have always held a deep appreciation for community, low cost-of-living, and quality of life. That is certainly what you can expect when you live and work in Tulsa. The number of times I bump into familiar faces around town is shocking – whether it’s at First Friday Art Crawl in the Art’s District, at Reasor's buying groceries for the week, or walking around the Gathering Place for a weekend stroll – Tulsans are out-and-about extending their sincere hospitality to others. So, if you’re looking for a place to have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact, maintain a work-life balance, and eat some delicious BBQ – look no further. I’ll pick you up from the airport!
Engage with Tulsa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, where technology drives employment growth.
Make a difference by working and leading with Tulsa’s prominent nonprofit community and public programs.
Work in one of the nation’s most innovative, data-driven Mayor’s offices.
Get hands on with Tulsa’s public-private arts and education programs.
I always thought that internships and entry level positions were grunt work: making copies, getting coffee, etc. Tulsa completely redefined these experiences for me. In these entry level positions, I proposed public policy that would ultimately be adopted by the city, designed projects to be built, and worked side by side with mentors as well as executives. Tulsa is special because it gives everyone the chance to do great things, regardless of their age, background, or identities. I never thought this would be my dream community, but now I can't imagine leaving.
Submit your application and be contacted by the Tulsa Service Year team
Interview with entrepreneurs and leaders in your field
Get accepted and finalize your program placement
Plan your move to Tulsa and meet your cohort
The New York Times recently coined Tulsa ‘Beta City’ because it is a “testing ground for evidence-based social programs that aim to overhaul the way America handles issues related to inequality.” One of the key drivers in this ability to become a laboratory for social programs is Tulsa’s unique public-private partnerships. The city’s private foundations, nonprofits, and local government collaborate to both dream big about where Tulsa can go, as well as take the immediate concrete steps to make change now.
My experience in Tulsa has been transformational. As a kid, I couldn't wait to leave the city and now that I'm back I can't wait to explore. So many transplants arriving in the city, new living districts and innovative companies. Currently I work in a venture capital firm that sees its community through a lens of economic development. It's rare that you find this combination but it's also powerful. I would recommend Tulsa to folks in their mid 20's and higher to move here - there's a great young professional scene emerging. Tulsa is unlike any other place I lived on the East Coast, West Coast, Mid-America or abroad. Tulsa is like a playground where anything you can imagine is possible and within reach - and that's special.
