The Echo staff has regular turnover each year as seniors graduate, freshmen learn the ropes, and staff members switch positions. This year, however, brings significant change as the Echo staff welcomes its new faculty adviser, Travis Weik, following Alan Blanchard’s retirement.
Before taking the position at Taylor, Weik held the role of managing editor for the New Castle Courier-Times, the Connersville News-Examiner, the Shelbyville News and the Marion Chronicle-Tribune.
Becoming The Echo’s faculty adviser was not something Weik intentionally sought out. It came in response to being offered the opportunity, viewing it as another natural progression of his career and witnessing the quality of the journalism stemming from Taylor, he said.
Weik worked with seven Taylor interns during his time as the managing editor for the Marion Chronicle-Tribune, he said.
“I was inspired by the quality of students coming out, and the program and the university as a whole, and I got excited to be a part of it,” Weik said.
Lisa Pinsenschaum, a junior multimedia journalism and musical theatre double major and one of Weik’s previous interns, said he was wonderful to work with. This was not only thanks to his consistent and timely communication, but also the level of care he demonstrated for the stories and reporters under him.
Weik made Pinsenschaum feel that her opinions were welcome and heard, and he allowed her to pursue stories she wanted to tell, she said.
“When I heard that he was in the running for Dr. Blanchard’s position, I was so excited,” Pinsenschaum said. “He was a very gracious and fun boss.”
Weik was also motivated to accept his new position after learning about Taylor’s environment and community from students and Blanchard, Weik said.
Upon meeting the other Communication department faculty, Weik found himself excited to share the faculty’s mission of equipping their students for the future.
In his new role, he hopes to live out The Echo’s slogan: “You are the voice. We are the Echo.”
“I want to meet and know Taylor University,” Weik said. “I’m excited to learn about Taylor University through the coverage The Echo provides.”
In the coming years, he said he wants everyone on campus to feel comfortable talking to him and presenting their stories. He looks forward to learning about his new community as Echo reporters share its stories.
While the legacy he is now upholding within The Echo and the journalism program at large may be daunting, Weik said he is excited to work with a preestablished “strong program.”
The Echo is kept alive by reporters sharing the voices of the Taylor community, Pinsenschaum said.
Weik looks forward to working with the student journalists, writers, photographers, designers and editors to keep The Echo growing, and to build the journalism program.
He intends to recruit more students to the program. Developing media literacy aids society and every industry, he said. Regardless of one’s intended career path, forging a connection with journalism can lend to understanding and discernment of the media one consumes, he said.
“Anybody could write for The Echo, and we have awesome editors,” Pinsenschaum said. “Mr. Weik is not going to let something go out that is not true, so if you have an interest and you want to write these stories, then try. Give it a shot.”
Weik also looks forward to encouraging his students to broaden their story selections and deepen their coverage.
Furthermore, he plans to connect with those outside of Taylor’s immediate bubble, establishing connections and opening opportunities for students to grow their experiences and abilities as journalists.
“I am very much looking forward to giving one hundred percent to Taylor and the journalism program,” Weik said.
