Wade Frances knows his role as student body president is a calling.
“I heard someone say to me today, ‘it felt like there was an awakening at Taylor.’ And that is powerful to me. So I think if we can somehow join in on that, and like, be a catalyst to another Jesus movement here and in this area, that would be pretty, pretty incredible,” Frances said.
Frances, a senior majoring in management and marketing, knew that stepping into this role was a leap of faith.
He initially made a satirical video poking fun at the campaign of the previous student body president.
“While doing that we started joking about, like, yeah we could do this,” Frances said. “We love the student body. We enjoy doing the work. We could do this.”
But spontaneity is nothing new to Frances.
His Jumping Bean order? Nothing short of surprise.
“If Thane’s working I will always go up and say, ‘Can I have the Thane Special?’” Frances said. “And he will make me whatever drink is on his mind.”
The drinks have varied from a peanut-butter-and-jelly drink to a pancake-flavored drink.
A class that Wade believes all Taylor students would benefit from is Creativity and Concept Development taught by Mick Bates, director of innovation and entrepreneurship and professor of entrepreneurship.
“It’s an entrepreneurship class that really helped me rethink how we create ideas and how we solve problems in the world and look at problems by looking at it (from) a different perspective,” Frances said. “My group worked with a company from Greece, like an actual company. So it was really awesome to get actual experience to work with real clients. And it was a nonprofit helping women get out of sex trafficking.”
The relational aspect of business and entrepreneurship coupled with measurable methods of defining progress influence his own approaches to leadership in the student body.
He remains committed to finding measurable ways of making sure his goals are met.
“I think one thing can be student feedback, and then also some more recently, there’s been so much with the Upland community and just measuring how many of our events are open to the community or affect the community,” Frances said.
Attention and focus on growth and success is important.
Yet even more, Frances believes that Taylor University has a fundamental role in fostering spiritual growth.
“I still think spiritual growth is super important,” he said. “That’s why the attention is sometimes nice, but it’s like, if we could just put it on God or Jesus that would be way better … Taylor already does such a good job at worshiping and showing love to Christ.”
An avid Pacers fan, a supporter of Taylor Baseball and a Washington, Indiana, native, Frances remains keen on maintaining an air of approachability in his role as student body president.
His desire is to operate on the same level as those he serves.
“We’re just students too,” he said. “Yes, we need to do our job, but we’re also just the same as everyone else.”
Frances’ leadership is also marked by new initiatives to help the student body grow in unity.
1 Corinthians 12:12 describes his heart for Taylor.
“I think this is big because we want to spread unity on campus, and it says the human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body,” Frances said. “So it is with the body of Christ. I think that’s encouraging to me, because when we boil it down, we’re all sinners. But then when we think about this, we all come together in our sinful nature to lift up Christ.”
Knowing this has allowed Frances to reflect on what has made his experience at Taylor so significant.
He would encourage his freshman self to be more of a risk-taker.
“Don’t be afraid to be a little rambunctious,” Frances said. “I think just don’t be afraid to try new things and get out of your comfort zone. Because even coming to Taylor is a big comfort zone change for most people. So just stepping into that a little bit is good. And then I think also just being your own self is super important. So I think using energy in other areas, in other people, rather than changing who you are, is a big thing I had to learn freshman year.”
Frances aims to get student, faculty and community engagement in the creation of an exciting new initiative: a bi-weekly run/walk club called “Wolf Pax” that fosters community and unity. The club includes a 3 mile running group and a 2 mile walking group.
Frances’ hope is to bring the community closer to intentional relationships, but he also realizes that there is always room for growth in this area.
“I think obviously as a senior, I can speak, everybody’s struggling with their own walk,” Frances said. “I’ve seen many students on different journeys in their faith. So it’s just realizing that everybody, and just the Christian community itself, is — we’re all capable of getting closer to God.”
Ultimately, Frances is committed to leading with a posture of faithful obedience.
His passion marks his leadership.
“I always tell people I just walk with my hands open, and then, what opportunities come are in God’s hands,” Frances said. “So I don’t feel like I do much, I just kind of go where doors open.”
