The sun set behind Taylor Lake as Upland families and Taylor students alike made s’mores and played sand volleyball.
Sunday Stroll and S’mores took place the evening of Sept. 27, kicking off National Good Neighbor Week which occurred Sept. 28 to Oct. 4.
1846 Enterprises put on the event with the hopes of fostering connection between Upland community members and Taylor faculty and staff. 1846 Enterprises is the organization behind the Main Street Mile Initiative — the project focused on developing “transformational places and programs along the one-mile corridor that connects Taylor University to Downtown Upland,” according to their website.
Wyatt Wash is a senior finance major and community coordinator with 1846 Enterprises. Events like Sunday S’mores and Stroll aim to show that Upland and Taylor do not have to be separate entities, he said.
Whether sitting around the bonfire together or exchanging a smile while walking the Taylor Lake Trail, students and Upland residents got to see one another as neighbors of the same community.
Elyse Miller and her family attended the event. Miller graduated from Taylor and is married to current Taylor professor Jakob Miller. Having been a Taylor student to now residing in Upland, Miller has seen a change in the connection between the town and university.
“When I was a Taylor student, you lived on campus and you drove wherever you needed to, and there was no connection really with the community,” Miller said. “And I think with Main Street Mile and just the students that are here now, (they) care more, and (they’re) more invested in this place where (they’re) living for these four years. I think that's been a big change.”
Now raising a family in Upland, Miller has seen what it can be like when the community and Taylor students converge. She loves taking her son to Taylor events and having him be surrounded by young adults who can serve as good role models, she said.
While Good Neighbor Week is just one week out of the year, Wash said people can be good neighbors all year long simply through seizing opportunities to serve and help out when you can. Being a neighbor is more a posture of heart, he said.
Quinn Tolsma, junior finance major, is also a coordinator with 1846 Enterprises. He agreed with Wash, saying it all boils down to being the church to the community around you.
“Being the hands and feet of Christ to the people around us is truly how you can be a good neighbor to your community,” Tolsma said.
