As elected student body president (SBP) and vice president (SBVP) juniors Emmanuel Terrell and Anna Craig are looking forward to serving the Taylor community for the upcoming 2020–2021 school year.
Inspired by the words from the Taylor Towel for their campaign slogan, “One Another, “ Craig and Terrell ran with the hope to challenge not only themselves, but the student body with a higher standard of servanthood.
Craig and Terrell want to call the student body to love one another through standing together as brothers and sisters in Christ through times of immense pain and great joy.
“We didn't want this campaign to be about us, but rather an idea about putting One Another before ourselves,” Craig and Terrell said.
Craig and Terrell said that they are excited to build upon the work that current seniors SBP Anders Soderquist and SBVP Tali Valentine have done over the past year, along with many other student leaders across campus.
“If I have one word of advice, it's to bring your full selves to your position,” Soderquist said. “Your strengths are opportunities to give and your weaknesses are opportunities to learn.”
Craig and Terrell were the winning candidates with 391 votes when the polls closed on April 2.
After classes were moved online for the remainder of the semester, Craig and Terrell’s campaign became solely virtual.
Craig and Terrell said that they felt and continue to feel more disconnected from the student body during this time.
However, the pair had previously planned on having a social media presence and didn’t feel too set back from the shift in campaigning efforts.
Craig and Terrell said that the challenges that come along with virtual campaigning included balancing how to best capture students’ attention, while being able to acknowledge the difficult season the students are facing.
Craig and Terrell have both been a central part of the Taylor’s community over the past three years in their involvement.
“Through the grace of my supervisors, mentors, and classmates, I have been able to continue and grow in my own pursuit of what it means to serve others in positions of leadership,” Craig said.
Craig has spent time at Taylor running on the cross country team, serving as a DA on her wing. She has also served as both a cabinet member and Co-President of TSO’s Global engagement .
Terrell served as PA for two years on the Brotherhood, has been a part of the Mainstage cabinet and was awarded the Act Six scholarship for his recognized role as a leader.
“Each of these things have shown me that it is not by my strength, but by the Spirit of the Lord that I am able to lead in any capacity,” Terrell said.
He credits the grace of God for his gift of leadership.
In the upcoming weeks Craig and Terrell will be meeting with the current office, Soderquist, Valentine, senior Matt Hapner and Director of Student Programs Steve Austin, in preparation for next year.
Craig and Terrell said that they look forward to partnering with members of TSO, OIP and Residence Life next year as they aim to bring the entire Taylor community together. This also means inviting families from Upland onto the campus to participate.
They are excited to make programming for the student body that is intellectually and emotionally stimulating, but also challenging.
“We want the student body to grow and we are excited to be those agents of growth,” Craig and Terrell said.
They want to make Taylor a place where everyone feels heard.
