Josiah Peterson returns to where it started for him at Taylor as the new residence life director.
As residence life director, a role he has held since June, Peterson leads and oversees the Hall Director program. He helps to equip the hall directors with tools to help them care for the people that they manage in their residence halls.
Peterson is a former Taylor University student who graduated in 2019 with a degree in Christian Ministries. He lived in Wengatz all four years and was a personnel assistant (PA) his sophomore year.
Peterson was involved in extracurricular activities while at Taylor. In addition to working in administration, he was co-director of the Lighthouse Program during his senior year and co-captain of the Taylor Lacrosse team during their first year of intercollegiate competition.
Peterson’s time at Taylor helped to shape his desire to work in higher education with students.
“It showed me the love and real interest in what is happening in a college student's life because it was happening to me, and I wanted to think, how do I be a part of that education for students,” Peterson said.
Upon graduating from Taylor, he continued to work on campus to obtain his Master’s in Higher Education and Student Development. While in the process of completing his master’s, he worked as the hall director for Swallow Robin Hall. After completing his degree, he transitioned to become the Samuel Morris Hall Director for the next two years.
Peterson then became a hall director at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.
Working at Gordon allowed Peterson to learn about and experience another institution and understand how another school's residence life operates.
“I got to learn another residence hall, learn another institution, learned other students and other systems,” Peterson said. “And I think that diversity of learning is just helpful in figuring out what works best rather than being like, oh, this is the Taylor way.”
He works closely with Julia Hurlow, the dean of campus life, Hailey Lyon, the residence life housing coordinator, and Anna Tabone, the director of residence life.
Tabone knew Peterson through graduate school and has called him a great friend for several years before he stepped into his new role. She was very excited when Peterson joined the Residence Life team.
“It’s really fun to have him on the team, not just as a colleague, but as a friend,” Tabone said. “It’s fun when you trust your friend and their wisdom and experience. And Josiah has all of that.”
Peterson said his various Hall Director roles have prepared him for his new job. His past experiences do not exactly correlate with what is going on in the lives of students, but help him develop a framework of what Taylor residence life is and how it's different from other schools and to make it stand out.
Peterson believes residence life affects a student's education. He hopes that his role as Residence Life Director helps to form students into ones who learn to love God and to connect to their lives after Taylor. He also seeks to continue to equip and empower hall directors and student leaders to care for their floor and wing.
“I think his energy is just great,” Tabone said. “He makes great connections with the students… He can do it very seriously and articulately, but also is very understanding and compassionate. He is a great educator.”
Peterson loves all of the opportunities available to the students. From chapel to local churches to various Bible studies, he believes there are numerous ways for students to make their faith their own while at Taylor. He hopes students ask questions about their faith and what they believe, because that is how he personally saw spiritual growth during his time as a student.
Peterson said the most rewarding part of his job is all of the relationships he gets to build with the students. He emphasized how the student leadership training week at the beginning of the school year was one of his favorites because of having a shared excitement with the student leaders.
Scott Barrett, who is currently the assistant director of the academic enrichment center, was the Residence Life director from 2015 to 2020, and hired Peterson as Hall Director at Swallow Robin in 2019. They have known each other for ten years.
“I think Josiah's awesome,” Barrett said. “I am so grateful that he's back here and bringing himself and doing good work and continuing to grow and be curious and bring his positive spirit towards the work that he used to do,” Barrett said.
From being a student to a hall director and now Residence Life Director, Peterson has experienced significant formative growth during his time at Taylor. He hopes to share that kind of growth with current students.
