Following His Lead - EC Student Spotlight on Taylor Campbell
Author: Olivia Synan
“You can’t do it, but the Lord can . . . so go.”
These were the words pushing Taylor Campbell, junior, into a leadership role as an Event Team Lead with WinShape Camps this past summer. Campbell, an Organizational Communication major, was not ready to lead a large group of people. She had only been a communication major for two semesters. She felt ill-equipped, unworthy, and unprepared. When the opportunity to take on this role was presented to her, she originally said no.
After working with WinShape in the summer of 2018 as an actress, she realized the Lord was calling her not into acting, but into events to be able to “cultivate the environment for people to experience the joy of the Lord.”
“I spent a lot of time with the event specialist that summer and she was able to pour into me and mentor me,“ Taylor said. "After talking to her, I changed my major before starting school again in the fall of 2018.”
Campbell says she was already on staff to be the Event Assistant but after a weekend in January with other workers, her supervisors called and offered her the job as Event Team Lead.
“When they first asked me, I said no,” Taylor remembers. "I wrestled with God, but eventually, decided to step out in faith. I spent a lot of spring semester trying to figure out why the Lord had me in that position. I had to trust the voice in my head saying, ‘you can’t do it but the Lord can so go.’”
Campbell started her summer as Event Team Lead for two-week overnight camps at Mt. Berry for completed first grade through eleventh grade. The mission of the camp is to inspire young girls to become more like Christ in the way they think, believe, and act.
She quickly realized that while she wasn’t fully equipped on her own, the Lord could show up and use her as a vessel.
“It took a lot of humbling,“ Taylor said. "I’m a vessel that the Lord is using and I’m doing things that no one is going to notice. At times I would say “Lord, that’s so small. I’m exhausted and no one knows that I did this. But you see me, and you renew this strength in me.’”
Campbell recalls being wide awake at 2 a.m. cutting holes in stockings, ordering cornstarch and shaving cream, and organizing workers to ensure that events ran smoothly. She says communicating with her workers was one of the most rewarding parts of her job.
“This summer was the first time we had different generations on staff, and you could tell. There was a big difference in the way my generation responds to campers and authority and the way that other generations respond.”
She mentions how beneficial her communication classes have been and how professors like Dr. Terilyn Goins and Paula Dixon prepared her for conflict in her job.
“After taking Interpersonal Communication with Dr. Goins last year, I felt like I knew how to figure out why someone says what they say and how to make sure they knew they were heard.”
She tells the story of a moment of conflict between another worker and herself. As Event Team Lead, Campbell was responsible for delegating tasks. When a staffer challenged her authority, she began to back down. Her supervisor was gone to day-camps, and Campbell wasn’t sure how to handle the conflict. This was the moment that Campbell realized she had to fall flat on her face and fully surrender to the Lord because while she couldn’t fix this problem on her own, God could.
“I remember feeling this peace that was so wild, like something you read about in devotional books,” she said. “It was a moment where I had to rely on the Lord fully, and I wasn’t expecting to have to do that. After that day, I realized I could do this job. The Lord is faithful to show up and meet me where I’m at.”
As she starts her junior year, she says she still feels unworthy, but “able to walk a little bit more in a sense of humbled confidence” and know that the Lord has called her to do these things.
“I was truly doing what I loved and what I’m good at and that is a sweet spot to be in, especially when the Lord has called you to do that,” Taylor said. “I feel more confident to step out in boldness and in pursuit of what the Lord has for me. Not because I had this big leadership position but because I followed what the Lord had for me.”
Author: Olivia Synan
“You can’t do it, but the Lord can . . . so go.”
These were the words pushing Taylor Campbell, junior, into a leadership role as an Event Team Lead with WinShape Camps this past summer. Campbell, an Organizational Communication major, was not ready to lead a large group of people. She had only been a communication major for two semesters. She felt ill-equipped, unworthy, and unprepared. When the opportunity to take on this role was presented to her, she originally said no.
After working with WinShape in the summer of 2018 as an actress, she realized the Lord was calling her not into acting, but into events to be able to “cultivate the environment for people to experience the joy of the Lord.”
“I spent a lot of time with the event specialist that summer and she was able to pour into me and mentor me,“ Taylor said. "After talking to her, I changed my major before starting school again in the fall of 2018.”
Campbell says she was already on staff to be the Event Assistant but after a weekend in January with other workers, her supervisors called and offered her the job as Event Team Lead.
“When they first asked me, I said no,” Taylor remembers. "I wrestled with God, but eventually, decided to step out in faith. I spent a lot of spring semester trying to figure out why the Lord had me in that position. I had to trust the voice in my head saying, ‘you can’t do it but the Lord can so go.’”
Campbell started her summer as Event Team Lead for two-week overnight camps at Mt. Berry for completed first grade through eleventh grade. The mission of the camp is to inspire young girls to become more like Christ in the way they think, believe, and act.
She quickly realized that while she wasn’t fully equipped on her own, the Lord could show up and use her as a vessel.
“It took a lot of humbling,“ Taylor said. "I’m a vessel that the Lord is using and I’m doing things that no one is going to notice. At times I would say “Lord, that’s so small. I’m exhausted and no one knows that I did this. But you see me, and you renew this strength in me.’”
Campbell recalls being wide awake at 2 a.m. cutting holes in stockings, ordering cornstarch and shaving cream, and organizing workers to ensure that events ran smoothly. She says communicating with her workers was one of the most rewarding parts of her job.
“This summer was the first time we had different generations on staff, and you could tell. There was a big difference in the way my generation responds to campers and authority and the way that other generations respond.”
She mentions how beneficial her communication classes have been and how professors like Dr. Terilyn Goins and Paula Dixon prepared her for conflict in her job.
“After taking Interpersonal Communication with Dr. Goins last year, I felt like I knew how to figure out why someone says what they say and how to make sure they knew they were heard.”
She tells the story of a moment of conflict between another worker and herself. As Event Team Lead, Campbell was responsible for delegating tasks. When a staffer challenged her authority, she began to back down. Her supervisor was gone to day-camps, and Campbell wasn’t sure how to handle the conflict. This was the moment that Campbell realized she had to fall flat on her face and fully surrender to the Lord because while she couldn’t fix this problem on her own, God could.
“I remember feeling this peace that was so wild, like something you read about in devotional books,” she said. “It was a moment where I had to rely on the Lord fully, and I wasn’t expecting to have to do that. After that day, I realized I could do this job. The Lord is faithful to show up and meet me where I’m at.”
As she starts her junior year, she says she still feels unworthy, but “able to walk a little bit more in a sense of humbled confidence” and know that the Lord has called her to do these things.
“I was truly doing what I loved and what I’m good at and that is a sweet spot to be in, especially when the Lord has called you to do that,” Taylor said. “I feel more confident to step out in boldness and in pursuit of what the Lord has for me. Not because I had this big leadership position but because I followed what the Lord had for me.”