Six Taylor students have been accepted into the Orr Fellowship’s 2025 cohort.
Following graduation, seniors Emma Gayed, Audrey Grimm, Ka- leb Kolpien, Kayla Malmquist, Jen- na Vander Ark and Sam Voss will join a group of 74 fellows in work- ing full-time with a variety of busi- nesses in marketing, consulting, tech and more, according to the Orr Fellowship’s announcement.
Each year the Orr Fellowship accepts students from Taylor, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, Purdue University and more. These students participate in hands-on experience, leader- ship training and business compe- titions. The organization’s website states it seeks to develop the next generation of business and entre- preneurship leaders in doing so.
Mick Bates, director of Inno- vation and Entrepreneurship and professor of entrepreneurship at Taylor University, said the fel- lowship is a great option for stu- dents planning their next steps after graduation. In addition to the skills gained simply from the rigorous interview process, stu- dents also have great work op- portunities and benefit from re- ceiving professional development alongside other graduates, he said.
“You’re not figuring out your job on your own,” Bates said. “You
have the cohort, and you have the leaders of the cohort who are helping you to figure out what this real-world job stuff is all about. That’s why I love the program.”
Both Jody Hirschy, Hodson Dean of the Cornwall School of Business and Leadership, and Bates said Taylor’s Business de- partment does an excellent job of developing students’ soft skills so that during opportunities like the Orr Fellowship students can add value to their assigned workplace.
In addition to these skills in communication and teamwork, Hirschy said Taylor students’ successes can be attributed to the unique attitude and per- spective that is cultivated while students attend the university.
“We believe work is an act of worship,” Hirschy said. “As a re- sult, when you’re working as if working under the Lord and not [just] for human managers or su- pervisors, you bring your whole self to everything you’re doing, and that’s part of what we want to instill here in the Cornwall School of Business and Leadership.”
Senior Jenna Vander Ark, psy- chology and communication double major, will work with Share Your Genius (SYG), a busi- ness which helps build brands through podcasts. She will as- sist SYG in communicating with their clients, as well as seeking out creative solutions to incor- porate into the podcast process.
Senior Kayla Malmquist, graph- ic design major and marketing mi- nor, was one of the six Taylor stu- dents accepted into the program.
Upon graduation, Malmquist will be involved in project man- agement at The Heritage Group.
Malmquist was familiar with the Orr Fellowship through her sister and several friends who are current fellows. She was aware of the benefits granted by the program and saw it as a great opportunity for herself as well.
“The most appealing aspect of the Orr Fellowship are the connec- tions available to make through different programming and also the alumni network,” Malmquist said. “Along with this, I knew that even if I didn’t achieve my end goal of being an Orr Fellow, the process would be a good avenue for professional development.”
Students accepted into the Orr Fellowship often come from var- ious academic fields, and this is true of the six Taylor students.
While the Orr Fellowship seeks to recruit “business lead- ers” or entrepreneurs, Bates said these are broad terms.
“I like the definition of entre- preneur as someone who has a state of mind to alter the future,” he said. “So that doesn’t mean you have to be a business major. That is anyone, from any walk of life.”
Bates said students from any aca- demic discipline can have an inno- vative mindset, and he encourages them to open themselves up to op- portunities like the Orr Fellowship.
For more information on the Orr Fellowship and how to apply, visit their website.
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