5-year-old Lori McGavic learned her first Spanish words from “Sesame Street.” Today, she teaches the language as a professor at Taylor University.
McGavic recently began her second year as an assistant professor of Spanish and taught Spanish for over 18 years before joining Taylor's faculty.
For McGavic, that early exposure to Spanish on television sparked far more than simple childhood curiosity.
"I think those are the moments where God is instilling, even as a small child, an intrinsic desire to learn,” McGavic said.
Her interest in teaching also started early. At 7 or 8 years old, she set up a classroom in her family’s basement, using a chalkboard to lead lessons for her sisters and stuffed animals.
However, McGavic’s path to language education took longer than her development of love for Spanish and education.
She began as a public relations and communications major at Purdue University with a minor in Spanish, but a study abroad trip to Spain inspired her to change majors. McGavic briefly taught in higher education and at the high school level before taking 10 years off as a stay-at-home mom, during which she continued work on her master's degree in Spain. She then felt called to continue teaching at the middle school level before making her home at Taylor.
Her connection to Taylor dates back to eighth grade, when a friend invited her to the Taylor Youth Conference. Although she was not a believer at the time, hearing about Jesus during an altar call marked the beginning of her faith journey.
35 years after Taylor first introduced McGavic to her faith, the university supported her through a personal crisis. Three weeks into her first semester on campus, McGavic’s husband was diagnosed with stage-four cancer. Throughout his treatment, students and faculty provided support through notes, gifts and prayer during class.
“It was one of those moments where God allowed it, and He was asking us to trust Him through the wilderness,” McGavic said. “He supplied us with what we needed through the university — through the students and the faculty.”
At Taylor, McGavic teaches Spanish 101, 102, 201, 202 and a new methods course for future Spanish educators. In her classes, McGavic uses an immersion-focused approach, delivering lectures primarily in Spanish and integrating cultural content into her lessons. To help students connect with others, McGavic shares a phrase from her pastor — “build bridges of grace that can support the weight of truth” — and encourages students to start conversations with basic questions like “What is your name?” or “Where are you from?”
McGavic has a practical style of teaching, said Jonathan Doud, a junior computer science digital media major and Spanish 101 student.
“She speaks in a very conversational tone,” Doud said. “She breaks it down in ways that people who don’t speak the language can still understand.”
Beyond the classroom, McGavic encourages students to view language learning as a means to serve in both Christian ministry and global outreach — a perspective shaped by her own international trips, including a mission trip to southern Mexico, where she visited local Christians imprisoned for their faith.
Last summer, she put that philosophy into practice by serving on a mission trip to Cuba in partnership with Filter of Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides clean water solutions to under-resourced international communities.
The trip’s team visited local Cuban communities to assemble and distribute portable water filtration units to households. McGavic noted that the filters served as a natural segue to discuss faith, using the process of cleaning dirty water to illustrate spiritual cleanliness before God. While the team shared the Gospel during these visits, local Cuban churches immediately followed to begin long-term discipleship with families who responded.
Whether teaching in a classroom or serving on a mission trip, McGavic sees each step of her career as evidence of God’s guidance.
“God is writing your story,” McGavic said. “He’s worthy of your trust, even when the plan looks frazzled. Looking back at my journey through teaching, I see how He has weaved His goodness through it all.”
