Jacqui Taylor, of Grand Rapids, will be honored Nov. 9 with a 2011 YWCA Tribute Award. She takes home this award for her work in community service, which includes serving on the Habitat for Humanity of Michigan Board of Directors.
"This is one of the most meaningful awards I have ever received, " Taylor said of the 2011 YWCA Tribute Award. "Community service and giving back to the community ... is a critical factor in building for the future."
Jacqui's Job/profession:
Consultant/executive coach for Pondera Advisors. Former vice president of Davenport University; president of Fulton-Montgomery Community College; vice president Lansing Community College; vice president and campus executive for Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Her Inspiration:
Inspiration comes from being involved and being an engaged person. It means connecting with other people and being inspired by helping other people, and watching and observing other people as they grow and as they achieve. That’s my external inspiration. My internal inspiration comes from being a very centered person who really lives to help others. I have a great and strong faith in a higher being. I’m a very enthusiastic and a very high-energy person, and that all adds up to being inspired about life.
Her Life Lesson:
The opportunities to succeed in school and to attend Aquinas College and Michigan State University and overcome any barrier that was out there. That includes working full time, going to college and raising kids. I didn’t look at them as barriers but as life lessons that teach you to rise above and learn from that. I had to overcome people who thought a female in the 1980s wasn’t going to be a top leader in a college or university. But yes, we could do that. We had to really work hard to raise the number of female presidents and vice presidents. We worked nationally with women in colleges and universities throughout the nation to demonstrate that we have the ability to also be top leaders in colleges and universities.
Her Vision:
I really truly believe in the Athena tenets of leadership: being very authentic, being true to one’s self and giving back always. For me, that includes the YWCA, my church (St. Mark’s), the Michigan Women’s Foundation and the Michigan Habitat for Humanity. I’m not afraid of being an advocate for what’s right.
Her Rule to Live By:
If we live by the golden rule, we can’t do any better than that. I also live by my own rule to rise above and move forward. Always move forward; always keep learning.
On Personal Challenge:
Finding a pathway that helped me create a life of educational leadership. One of the toughest decisions I had to make was to move from being a secretary type to become a controller of a school district. Then, taking the right steps all the way through to get to the positions I wanted as a leader in higher education. That truly was a challenge, and, as I look back, I think God helped me to make the right steps to achieve the roles where I felt I could make the most impact on the younger generation. Building for the future is still a dream in my life, to help people be the best they can be.
People, Living or Dead, You Most Admire:
Bishop Tutu, when he was here in Grand Rapids. We brought him in as a part of the World Affairs Council and had 5,000 people in Van Andel Arena to see him. It was powerful the way he touched our souls, the way he demonstrated what it truly is to give of yourself, to provide better pathways for others. It’s a service above self that he truly epitomized. Bishop Tutu provided service above self with a spiritual connection, and that spiritual connection truly makes it meaningful to be connected to God.