Though cherished, the time students spend at Taylor can fly by. Some students use different physical and digital mediums to commemorate and remember their time at college.
Sophomore Sarah Johnson has cataloged her time by scrapbooking in journals about her experiences. Usually, these journals are organized by school year or the summer.
Johnson started scrapbooking during her freshman year of college by filling journals and writing notes for friends with stickers and other miscellaneous items.
When starting a new page, she typically picks an image to center the rest of her design around.
Johnson shared that her time scrapbooking doesn't need to be specific or expensive; instead, it's relaxing. Additionally, she shared that there are different styles of scrapbooking as well. A friend of hers gets materials in random places.
“She’ll have receipts from activities, find flowers, and have them dry, so a lot of her scrapbooking is what she finds around.” Johnson said. “I really like to buy things and have a color palette, but if you ever want to scrapbook you can start with anything that you have.”
Senior Sarah Lozier is used to the scrapbooking process and appreciates the art form, as her mom makes them. Lozier’s mom has been creating scrapbooks since before she was born and her mother is now making one commemorating her senior year.
Additionally, as an end-of-the-year gift for her wing’s PA and DA last year, Lozier had wingmates donate pictures for her mom to make wing scrapbooks.
Lozier also has experience with scrapbooking herself. During 2020, she made an online scrapbook in which she was able to record her high school graduation and experience.
“I take photos of everything,” Lozier said, “that's always been ingrained in me since I was little, to take small moments and reflect on them. I just have this desire to collect all the things that I enjoy and then try to find ways to remember them in the following years.”
For those who haven’t taken as many pictures as they would like during their time at Taylor and are hoping to gain some memories from others, looking to the #tulifetothefull might be a great place to start.
This hashtag, created around the time of the University's rebranding, is used to build consistency across the brand as well as to give students the ability to engage and participate in the community hashtag.
Hannah Helfert, Taylor University social media manager, shared that the intention behind the hashtag is to have students show support for the school and spark interest for prospective students who are considering attending Taylor.
Helfert explained that the hashtag works like an online photo album that anyone can scroll through. This may be helpful to seniors looking for Taylor photos for their time here.
Students can also view and share images on the newly created Taylor SmugMug account.
“[SmugMug] is a great way for people to add their own photos. We would encourage current students to do that because it’s not just preserving their own memories. It’s also preserving it for future students who can view it like a digital time capsule.”
Another way students can look back on times at Taylor is to visit the archives, Helfert said. If students are interested in preserving their current memories it might be fun to look back on history as well.
Moving on from college can be bittersweet for TU seniors, but hopefully with these memories saved, students and alums will always remain part of the community and will be able to keep the experiences they have had over the years.
