Taking the fork in the road

John Taylor, Ph.D., M.Ed., MACC, LPC, has always been open to new experiences in his life, leading to a varied career path, now as an assistant professor of public health at La Salle University.

John Taylor, Ph.D., M.Ed., MACC, LPC, after being encouraged by students in his Essentials to Public Health class to participate in an on-campus activity: cycling on a stationary bike to make a smoothie.

After a career filled with new opportunities and different paths, Assistant Professor John Taylor, Ph.D., M.Ed., MACC, LPC, believes La Salle University's Public Health Program is an important part of his story.

"My life continues to be a great journey," Taylor said. "I have been myself, and I've chosen to take different highways, and it's been fantastic. I wouldn't change a thing."

After graduating from Fayetteville State University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, Taylor started his career journey as a correctional officer in North Carolina, a position he took simply because he wanted a job. He continued working in law enforcement-adjacent fields for 20 years, spending time as a domestic violence facilitator and probation officer.

Taylor relocated to Philadelphia, where he worked as an HIV case manager and served as a mental health therapist at COMHAR, a nonprofit health and human services organization in the city.

It was while he was in this role that Taylor took his first step into graduate education, earning a master's degree in Christian Counselling from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

This line of study was inspired by Taylor's law enforcement roles, which led him to believe that if some of the incarcerated individuals had someone to help them before their crimes, they wouldn't have committed them. His Christian counselling qualification, an integration of theology and psychology, was his way to be that person to help.

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell, Taylor became a licensed therapist and opened his own private counselling practice where he still sees clients today.

These clients inspired Taylor's second stint at graduate school. Many of them came in with questions surrounding their sexuality that Taylor didn't have answers to or a way to help. His solution was a second master's degree from Widener University in sexuality education and sexuality studies. In this program, which only accepts 15 people a year, Taylor also had the chance to continue to earn his doctorate degree, gaining both qualifications in six years.

While Taylor was starting his education at Widener, he was also adding another role to his resume: adjunct professor in the Public Health Department at La Salle.

A colleague from Drexel University's College of Nursing and Health Professions, where Taylor was also an adjunct professor, suggested he come to 20^th and Olney to teach a class. He visited campus, met everyone in the public health department, and the rest was history.

"They were so welcoming," Taylor said. "I was so impressed by the tenacity of the faculty, the students' curiosity in learning and knowing more, and I felt like, yeah, I belong here."

This started many years of adjunct teaching at La Salle, while Taylor completed his Ph.D. program and continued to see clients. His graduation in 2021 coincided with an opening for a full-time position as public health faculty. Taylor quickly applied and was selected to fill the role.

Taylor also recently received a secondary appointment at La Salle. He serves as a faculty fellow in Academic Affairs, where he supports curriculum review processes, cross-school coordination on curriculum-related initiatives, and the academic affairs policy review process.

Although there's been many different paths throughout his career, there's been one common thread.

"All of my work, from correctional officer to all the jobs I've had since then, has all been in public health. And now I'm teaching public health, so it's kind of like it was all meant to be," Taylor said. "Our journey moves us where we need to be for that time in our lives."

These varied life and career experiences are also positives in the classroom, he said, adding that his students love hearing about his journey and how what they're learning from textbooks can translate to the real-world experiences that he's had.

"Helping students recognize some of those moving parts has been very interesting for class and class discussions," Taylor said. "Because they're really about bringing in real-world experiences coupled, of course, with the information I share around academics, but really having them connect with the real world to have them do the work around public health."

Giving his students everything they need to succeed is a priority for Taylor and is reflected in the way he teaches.

"Teaching for me is like a performance. You go to any Broadway show, you only have one chance to get it right, so I take my teaching like it's a performance," he said. "It is an experience, and it won't happen again. Yes, we have another class next week, but the class today will never happen again, so it's important to make sure the class today is the best class possible that day."

He shows up every day prepared and ready to bring his best self every day for his students, he said, and described seeing them build confidence from having their thoughts heard, participating in discussions, and having lightbulb moments as "the joy" in his role as an educator.

Those lightbulb moments with the students are one of the highlights of his time as an Explorer. Taylor loves seeing students come in as freshman and watching their journey evolve throughout their years on campus. He is able to see them grow and change, and serve as an advisor, both academically and with anything else that's going on in their lives.

"I love teaching, I think it's one of the best things I do," he said. "You get to see people in the next generation take information from here and use it in their lives going forward."

As well as being a space for academic information, Taylor also prioritizes making sure his classes learn about balance, ensuring that they are encouraged to have fun as well as learn, something he does in his own life.

Personally, Taylor is an avid bike rider, cycling between 80 and 100 miles a week, as well as weight training every day.

"Those things keep me balanced in the work that I do," he said.

Transferring this to his academic work, Taylor starts every class with music, a playlist full of different songs and genres for Explorers to listen to as they come in and settle down for the lessons of the day.

"I tell all my students at the end of class, do something fun, be kind to yourself, and kind to someone else because we are public health and it's about people," he said.

On top of teaching and working with clients, Taylor is also a researcher, with a focus on the impact that structural violence has on the sexual behavior and mental health of Black men, and the host of the podcast My Mortality Matters: The Voices and Lives of Black Men. With the understanding that the lives of Black men have been impacted by racism and discrimination, Taylor is committed and intentional about ensuring that their voices are heard.

Taylor is excited about his most recent publication, titled A Hinderance in Dating: The Impact of Social Anxiety on Black Men and Interpersonal Relationships: A Secondary Data Analysis, coauthored with Professor of Public Health, Daniel Rodriguez, Ph.D., Adam Adeeb, M.A. '25, and Andrew Godley, MPH '25. He also has an upcoming article that has been accepted for publication, titled My Hair Sends Simultaneous Messages: A Qualitative Study of Black Men Aged 18-60 with "Locs" Navigating Societal Norms and the Impact on Their Mental Health, co-authored with Andrew Godley, MPH '25, and Itzel De Leon-Hernandez, '25.

The idea that public health is about people is a constant throughout Taylor's work, whether he's teaching a class or seeing clients in his private practice, and in a field with so many different paths, that's at the heart of being a successful professional.

"The thing you have to have, at the core, is a need to help other people. And if that is at your core, and being true to yourself, you will find your lane," he said. "Public health, to me, is more about being empathetic to those who are vulnerable. Also, recognizing everywhere we go is public health. It's our air, our train system, our community, so all the things that we are public health."

This compassion for others that drives Taylor's expertise is parallel to the Lasallian values at the University, he said. Combining those values with the opportunities he's had since joining the faculty, like being involved with the Buttimer Institute for three years and serving on the faculty executive senate committee for two years, the students, and the hardworking and dedicated colleagues he works alongside, makes La Salle a perfect fit.

"It's all made my time at La Salle from adjunct to now a great journey," Taylor said. "I'm grateful that I got the opportunity to be here and do what I'm doing."

Looking to the future, Taylor will continue to help his clients and his students, showing up for them as his authentic and best self. And, although he's telling himself there aren't any more degrees coming his way, as someone who believes in always staying open to new experiences, he can't make any promises about that.

"One thing I tell my students is always keep yourself open and curious, and you are likely to find yourself going down different avenues and not getting stuck in life thinking I have this job, I have this degree, I've got to stay in this lane," he said. "That's not true. There's so many highways and forks in the road; we can always turn and take them. I've taken a lot, and it's been fun for me."