A Guide to Fame

Reported By: Kate Mack

Photographed By: Allison Martinet

In the Stevens Center there is a mural that displays the smiling faces of past George Fox University (GFU) students and their shining careers. This mural is a bright statement that shows the brilliant futures of students who attended GFU. However, how does one end up on the wall, and what makes someone worthy of being on the mural? 

Jeremy Lloyd, a member of the GFU marketing team, was willing to tell the story of how the wall began: with the idea of only using pictures of the graduates, and then a short one-liner describing their experience. However, Lloyd was looking for something more personal and wanted something that had the potential to tell a story. This is what led to the idea of the mural students see today. 

Lloyd described that this mural is meant to portray past students who have combined their careers and their callings to make a difference in the lives of others. Anyone who wants to end up on the mural has the opportunity, no matter their major or graduate program. 

The process for picking students to be on the wall is quite simple, Lloyd explained. First, the student must fit the theme for the mural. Due to the mural changing every now and then, staying on theme is crucial. The theme is picked based around the idea that has filled GFU since the beginning, the ability to blend one’s calling and one’s career. Frequently, Lloyd and the team will reach out to individual academic departments for the names of past students that meet the criteria. The current mural is filled with past students who were all featured in the George Fox Journal. This made it extremely easy to get photos and highlights of the past student’s career. 

The mural is meant to inspire current and future students at GFU, which means that students can someday be on that wall too. To get on the wall, all a student needs to do is reach out after graduation. This can be done by filling out forms or reaching out directly to the marketing department. This allows current students to shoot for the stars and let their bright futures be highlighted on the Stevens mural, someday inspiring others in the same way that they were inspired.