For the last four years, senior Caleb Joshua Heffron has devoted himself to covering Taylor sports as much as he can. He’s done it semester in and semester out, all the while putting smiles on his classmates’ faces.
He took the reins of The Echo’s sports section by himself his sophomore year and quickly decided that every Taylor athlete needed their story shared. With this, the sports section was granted two full pages instead of one, and Caleb got to work.
He began covering whatever sport was needed of him, whether it was football, basketball or something he had little experience with like track and field.
He continued putting in countless hours for the section and passed on the editor torch halfway through his senior year. With Caleb graduating, he began mentoring and teaching the younger editors how to lead the section.
“So every semester brings us new challenges, but you meet those challenges as best you can,” Heffron said. “You lean on your support staff best you can, and God does the rest.”
Circling back to the beginning, Heffron spent most of his childhood living in Chicago being raised by sports fanatic parents.
His father was a sports journalist during his time at the University of Georgia, becoming a Bulldog from birth. His mother, being from North Carolina, wouldn’t hear any talk other than March Madness during the college basketball season every year.
“She’ll watch football, she’ll watch basketball, but when March Madness shows up, oh no, it’s Tar Heel blue,” Heffron said. “And if not, you can leave the house.”
He grew up with nearly every sport, watching the Chicago White Sox, Blackhawks, and Georgia Bulldogs football on Saturdays. After playing a game of Madden, he would write down a report of his game as if he was the journalist.
Being born on the southside of Chicago, his birth certificate meant he was practically a White Sox fan…no changes allowed. The city of Chicago is home to many pinnacle sports events, such as Michael Jordan’s six NBA Finals victories with the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Cubs’ 2016 World Series victory.
“Sports is huge to Chicago,” Heffron said. “It’s like one of the few things that unifies a city with a lot of governmental struggle and a lot of violence and decent amount of poverty around the area.”
While he was surrounded by sports and continued in them through his junior year of high school, Heffron originally planned to go into the courtroom and become a lawyer. However, he realized sports were his greatest passion, leading him down the path he’s on now.
In the summer of 2025, Heffron interned with the Windy City Thunderbolts, a professional baseball team based in Crestwood, Illinois. He shot video for the team throughout the season, putting in many long days and being asked by young fans for free merchandise.
Heffron is easily recognizable on campus, as he is typically sporting his red Chicago Blackhawks sweater or black White Sox cap. Wherever and whenever someone bumps into him, he is always willing to sit down and hear about how someone else is doing.
“I think a lot of times with networking or getting to know people, it’s hard to navigate whether or not they’re being authentic,” senior Karlee Johnson, co-editor in chief of The Echo, said. “And I feel like Caleb is able to put himself out there in a confident way while still being authentic and, like, true to himself.”
Heffron has not taken any of his leadership roles at Taylor lightly, whether it’s working with Taylor’s WTUR Radio program, singing worship on stage for chapel or teaching future sports editors how to lead. Under his guidancep, The Echo sports section won several journalism awards from the Indiana Collegiate Press Association and has made sure every team at Taylor feels recognized and valued.
In April 2024, Caleb won first place for Division III at the Indiana Collegiate Press Association for his editorial column about the WNBA deserving respect. Fast forward to September 2025, at the College Media Association Pinnacle Awards, Caleb won third place in Division III for his feature story on cross-country sensation Jaynie Halterman.
Caleb is a true teammate, always willing to offer encouraging words and service, even if it means adding someone else’s need to his already extensive to-do list.
“I think his superpower’s his enthusiasm, his approachability, his warmness,” Alan Blanchard, associate professor of journalism and adviser of The Echo, said. “I mean, students would just come to him and share their problems with him, morning, noon, night, 3 a.m. They just were attracted to him.”
While Caleb has won several personal awards and has improved his resume after every semester, he is not one to take credit or stand in the spotlight.
Heffron is engaged to his fiancee, Christina, and their wedding will take place two weeks after finals are over. He is currently looking to secure a job in sports journalism in Indiana before ultimately moving back to his beloved home of Chicago.
“My hope is that I’ve also trained the people who were under me to also enjoy and love sports and be good writers, is the hope, that’s the goal,” Heffron said. “I have really loved it, being sports editor has been one of my favorite parts of being at Taylor.”
