Sometimes people just know the moment they set foot somewhere, that they have found where they are supposed to be, and that is exactly the case for Political Science professor Zachary Taylor, who happened to find his fit, right here in the cold winds of Laramie, Wyoming.
Taylor began his journey at UW in 2007, when he began his undergraduate years as a political science major with minors in the Honors Program and international studies. During his time as an undergrad Taylor was heavily involved throughout campus, from helping in the founding of the Blue’s Dancing Club, being a dancer and instructor himself for years, to being the director of the campus radio station at the time.
“I was all about just trying new things when I was an undergrad,” said Taylor, “It was a lot of fun and I really appreciated that all those things were around on campus, even if I didn’t stick with all of them.”
Between his undergraduate and graduate years, Taylor worked in the UW office of admissions where he was the campus visits coordinator upon graduating. During this time Taylor knew that he loved the administrative side but slowly realized that he loved teaching as well. During his graduate years he began to move in that direction.
From there, Taylor was able to find his fit here on campus and within the state of Wyoming. He graduated in 2017 with a master’s degree in public administration from the School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies (SPPAIS), the school in which he is currently a professor.
“Staying here was sort of a mix of loving UW, loving Wyoming and also, that things just worked out, which is sometimes hard.” said Taylor.
Taylor initial began teaching one or two classes during the summer time. Eventually the Political Science department extended an offer to teach some of the larger courses and Taylor accepted, using it as a stepping-stone to a full time teaching position.
Taylor began his teaching career after graduating with his master’s degree, in the same department he had just come from as a student. Though Taylor had not always planned on being a teacher, he had great role models to help him realize this career path.
“I went from being a Graduate Assistant to then having a Graduate assistant one semester to the next. I really look up to a lot of the faculty in our school and on campus, so having them there and supportive made that a lot easier,” said Taylor.
Though Taylor knew that teaching, specifically here at UW, was the right fit for him he was still met with some challenges. Seeing his professors turned colleagues in a new light was difficult to adjust to.
“Beginning my teaching career was not without some challenges. I think one of the weirder ones was just getting used to using people’s first names,” said Taylor, “Transitioning from calling our head of school Dr. Anderson, to now her being my colleague and knowing her as Stephanie.”
Taylor has called UW home for the last 12 years. From being a heavily involved undergraduate to working in the admissions office to his graduate years, and now as a professor in the very department he was a student, Taylor has been able to find his fit in this snowy town of Laramie, Wyoming.
