UM Health Professions Adviser Elevates Students to Success

By Samantha Spurling
Hottytoddy.com intern
saspuril@go.olemiss.edu

UM health professions adviser Sovent Taylor is always there to help University of Mississippi students needing guidance on the path to their future careers.

When Taylor originally began working for the University of Mississippi, he did not plan on advising students. He started with a job in which advising was just a small part of it, but then Taylor fell in love with it and made it a full-time career.

Dr. Taylor assists a student in career planning. Photo via the Ole Miss website.

“There are times when I have been moved to tears because I know how hard our students work and I know that there are ups and downs and plenty of struggles. To see them finally get to a place where they can follow their dreams, you can’t really put a price on that. It makes my job worth coming to every day,” Taylor said.

Although his job is mostly very rewarding, it does come with challenges like delivering bad news to students.

“The hardest part is when students get rejected or I have to tell somebody that they should probably choose a different career because they don’t have the qualifications. It’s hard telling somebody they can’t have what they have worked so hard for,” he said.

On top of advising students going into the health field, Taylor teaches business communications, a course designed to help students prepare for their career with topics like perfecting your resume, nailing an interview, and communicating with business professionals. He also teaches EDHE: Center for Student Success and First-Year Experience, a course designed to help students with their transition from high school to college.

Business Student Riley Welence took business communications with Taylor and said that even at the early hours of the morning, Taylor always comes into the classroom with a smile across his face and tons of positive energy.

“Even if it was 8 a.m. on a cold rainy day, Dr. Taylor would come into class full of energy ready to start class. He really just loves his job and his students,” said Welence.

Taylor’s biggest inspiration for success has always been his mom.

“She always worked hard at every single thing she did. She never cut corners, she was a hard worker. She was also always so nice to everybody and I pride myself on getting that from her,” he said.

Taylor recalls a time when his family did not have much money but every Christmas he would walk downstairs into a living room full of presents that his mother bought for others.

“I remember when I was growing up we didn’t have a ton of money but there would be Christmas presents everywhere. You could barely walk in the living room. It wasn’t really extravagant or anything but just a little something to say ‘just in case nobody else bought you a Christmas present, we got you one.’ We would load up the presents in garbage bags and just drive around town delivering them,” Taylor said.

A heart like that is a heart that Taylor strives every single day to have, he said. His mother constantly reminded him that everybody only gets one life so they need to take care of each other.

When Taylor isn’t helping students reach their goals, you can find him spending time with his wife and two children. His son runs cross country and plays baseball, while his daughter is involved in gymnastics and tennis.

Taylor enjoys going to his children’s’ sporting events as well as Ole Miss sporting events as he is an Ole Miss season ticket holder.

As somebody who helps students get where they need to be on the track to their future endeavors, Taylor benefits the Ole Miss community with his generous spirit and love for everybody who comes through his office doors.