Lakelyn Taylor

Long Beach, MS

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Lakelyn Taylor believes strongly that her faith is what led the Long Beach, Mississippi, native to pursue her master’s degree in communication at UCF. After having heard positive things about the program, Taylor prayed about the decision and, in the end, felt that God was calling her to come to UCF rather than one of the eight other schools she had applied. The importance Taylor places on religion extends to her academic work, where one of her research focuses is religious communication, along with communication and ethics and risk and crisis communication.

Taylor’s favorite part about her program is her cohort, saying, “I didn’t want to be in an environment that was competitive to the point where people were throwing each other under the bus or stabbing each other in the back. When I got into my program and met my cohort, I was immediately welcomed! The atmosphere the graduate students fostered when I came in (and the atmosphere we are continuing to cultivate) is one of support and encouragement.” Taylor enjoys that she and her peers lift each other up and support each other, as well as spend time together outside of class. Taylor personally likes to help her peers – even though she is frequently busy, she always makes time to help people however she can. As Taylor points out, this makes for “a great environment to be in and for someone who is coming from out-of-state and who is away from family, it is nice to have such a support team here at UCF.”

Taylor successfully received her Communication MA from UCF and is now earning her doctoral degree in Strategic Communication from the university.