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You are the voice. We are the echo.
The Echo
Taylor University, Upland, IN
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
The Echo

Features

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Students join God’s work in Budapest, Hungary

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The goal of the three-week Lighthouse trip to Hungary was one of fellowship and community. Over the course of January, a group of 22 students were led by Julie Borkin, assistant professor of communication and Clifton Davis, director of chapel music and adjunct instructor of music, on a mission trip to Hungary. They immersed themselves in the rich culture of Budapest as they engaged in discipleship opportunities, evangelistic work and community outreach. 


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Children’s writing: big voice, little audience

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Do you ever feel that where you are today is the result of a series of events you never would have seen coming? Michelle Medlock Adams calls them “divine mistakes.” Adams is an award-winning children’s book author, freelance writer, speaker and teacher with 123 published books. Now, she has her own children’s imprint, “Wren & Bear Books,” and consulting business, “Michelle Medlock Adams, LLC.”


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Tyler Smith: tours, travel and Thailand

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You may have previously seen him give a family a campus tour — if he didn’t first give you a tour. Junior Tyler Smith is the admissions intern to Andy Gammons, executive director of admissions. 


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Passion meets praise in chapel band leadership

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Dust and dry earth have never withered the love of God. From the rainless skies of Zimbabwe and Arizona to the March mud of Upland, the Lord’s character is indeed a consuming fire — one junior Chloe Pistelli and senior Tinashe Madakadze hope to honor through their own praise and passions. 


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CIE brings energy to entrepreneurship efforts

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On a campus like Taylor’s, there are innumerous opportunities for students to pursue existing leadership roles, yet It takes a special student to carve their own path in leadership. Senior Briona Graham and junior Lextin Willis believe their involvement with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) has offered them a space to do just that.


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Love, Twooge: PA, DA partners practice floor renewal

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Sometimes, love looks like butterfly wings. As the culture of Gerig’s second floor — known more affectionately as “Twooge” — has shifted in recent years, so too has its definition of love and sisterhood, drawn to life through this year’s theme of renewal.


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Kevin Trees: more than a maintenance job

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Kevin Trees has observed Taylor University’s history of community for over two decades. Trees is a custodian in Samuel Morris Hall and has worked at Taylor for 21 years, from supply delivery to housekeeping manager to custodian.


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Just say yes: Yoder embraces kaleidoscope of faith

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Point a kaleidoscope to the sun and the colors will glow like tinted honey. As the dial turns, shapes arching and twisting, expanding and collapsing, new designs will slowly take shape, almost as if they were waiting to be discovered. This is the image Chad Yoder, lead pastor at Pierce Church, has of God.



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Spotlight on Who’s Your Coffee Roastery

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College students and their coffee. There’s quite a reputation there. If you’ve ventured off campus in search of a good old-fashioned cup of coffee in recent years, it’s likely you’ve stumbled across Who’s Your Coffee Roastery.



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‘The grandmother of Christian fiction’

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Lorne Oke, Taylor’s head men’s and women’s golf coach, knows that his mother Janette Oke’s stories are characterized by humility and a down-to-earth desire for telling truthful, heartfelt stories about community, family and God.


The Echo

Soccer player by day, EMT by night

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Emergency jobs can bring a lot of pressure, but this student has learned the skills to handle it. Junior Morgan Fletemeyer is a biology pre-med major who works as an emergency medical technician (EMT) at the Marion General Hospital.


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Ben Gerig: worshipping through songwriting

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Chapel band, Fall Fest, an album — ain’t it strange how one student has done these and then some? Junior Ben Gerig is a Christian ministries major at Taylor University. He released a Christian album in January 2024. The album is titled “Ain’t It Strange,” and it contains five songs, with the first song sharing the same name as the album.




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Telling the story of all: “Always and Forever”

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Grief is one of the most uniquely individual yet universal human experiences. Donna Downs, associate professor of communication, captures the complexity and weight of the emotion in the simple prose of a children’s story titled, “Always and Forever.”


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Hank Voss: Raising up workers for the harvest fields

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Just as we embrace the slowness that winter brings each year, there are times in our lives where the right answer is found in rest. Hank Voss, assistant professor of Christian ministries, is celebrating eight years at Taylor University by taking a sabbatical.