Laurel Burgess, Taylor ‘24, has been Upland Community Church’s Office Coordinator for over a year, but before she entered that role, she expressed her creativity as a professional writing student.
As a Taylor student living on Cellar in English Hall (first floor), Burgess studied under Linda Taylor, assistant professor of professional writing, where she had the opportunity to explore her gifts in editing and writing more deeply.
Taylor said that Burgess’s love of writing and passion for learning set her up well for her time at Taylor.
“She is really a writer and loves to work on her books; that was always her passion when she was here,” she said. “I always love her enthusiasm for things, her willingness to jump in and do things, and her creativity.”
As office coordinator at Upland Community Church (UCC), Burgess helps to manage communication and engagement. She handles the bulletin for Sunday morning services, shifts through details, creates event graphics and manages them, directs emails and occasionally posts on the church’s facebook page.
As a student, her first introductions to UCC centered around attending services as a student. Her connection to the church deepened through the opportunity of an internship with Head Pastor Dan Blosser involving the college class that he taught on Sunday mornings. The content of the class was deeply impactful to Burgess, and she believed that it could be for others as well.
“One day I was sitting in there, and I was like, ‘this is amazing,’” She said. “This is everything I had questions for. I’ve been craving these answers. I wish that my friends back home could hear this. And I was sitting there thinking ‘this should be a book and maybe I could help with that.’”
Blosser and Burgess put together a manuscript through a process of transcription, editing and meetings. Burgess’s connection with the Church grew as the manuscript developed.
After graduating, working at home and experiencing many closed doors, the opportunity for the position at UCC arose with a resounding feeling of peace surrounding Burgess.
Blosser said Burgess immediately came to mind when the office position arose. With her good character and immense love for the church, he sensed she would be a good fit, and said she has since “bloomed in every way that we would hope.”
Blosser expressed her depth of character, good sense of humor and professionalism. He said she has grown in confidence while maintaining a humble demeanor that makes her approachable.
“She really loves people, and she really loves this church,” he said. “That comes through with the patience that she shows to people of all ages and stages. She listens deeply, has good eye contact and a very empathetic, very caring heart, and that’s what we need, especially in the front office.”
He said that her gentleness, patience and kindness pair well with her calming presence when helping members of the church. He said she is very loyal and up for a challenge.
Burgess said she has found an amazing community at UCC through involvement in the women’s Bible Study group, young adult home groups and working in the church. It has given her ample opportunity to know the people better.
As she made the switch into her role, she said she felt warmly welcomed by the church’s staff especially. She said that comradery and inclusion are strong among the UCC staff.
Through acts of service and thoughtful interactions in stressful situations, Burgess said that the staff has so much grace for one another.
“There can be a lot of grief or stress or different things, but they talk about the importance of weeping and rejoicing or being joyful,” she said. “And I see that so clearly in them where we will be sad and hugging one another, but then will laugh so much.”
Although working at UCC, Burgess’s involvement at Taylor did not end at graduation. She has worked with Taylor volunteering at TU’s Professional Writing Conference and teaching a workshop in a professional writing class.
She brings her creativity and willingness to help and learn along with her, Taylor said.
“She is such a joy, always so helpful, and always pulling people together,” Taylor said. “I miss her being a part of the major because she was always somebody who would gather people around her.”
Outside of work, Burgess enjoys writing and meeting with critique groups to talk about writing. She still has sessions with other alumni from her graduating class of professional writing majors and meets with another group of writers virtually during the month as well.
She has a newsletter as well as a published short story “Unwanted Thoughts from a Chatty Sea Cucumber.” She has worked, previously, with publishing companies, and dabbled in social media marketing.
Burgess lives in Upland with her affectionate cat Quilliam, and has enjoyed being a part of the community in different ways from that of her time as a student.
