At 86, Hurl Taylor is the oldest graduate in Emory’s class of 2025. And it’s not the first time he’s held that distinction.
He was also the oldest graduate in the class of 2016, when he completed a master’s of religion and public life (MRPL) at Candler School of Theology. This time around, he’ll be graduating with a master’s in business for military veterans (MBV) through a new program offered by Goizueta School of Business. He is part of its inaugural graduating cohort.
His degree count doesn’t stop there, though. He has two more from Emory: a 1985 juris doctorate and a 1986 master’s in litigation, both from the law school. He has five additional advanced degrees from other institutions.
“I have been accused of being a lifelong learner, and I plead guilty to it,” Taylor says. “It all started many years ago. As a young boy growing up, I used to try to read some of the novels that my mother had in her small library, like ‘Pride and Prejudice.’”
So, what keeps bringing him back to Emory?
“There’s great familiarity here, and it goes back to reputation,” he says. “Emory takes care of all its students. They look at their financial wealth, their health and their spiritual well-being. It’s just the complete package.”
Camaraderie among classmates
With his new MBV, Taylor hopes to help friends and family with their small business needs, whether that’s registering a license, drafting a business plan or learning how to best comply with business law.
A significant draw in returning to Emory was the opportunity to learn with other veterans, he says. Taylor served in the U.S. Army and is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War.
“As veterans, we have our own language,” he says. “We sometimes forget that we are in a civilian world, and we’ll revert back to military talk — you know, the bathroom is the head; the kitchen is the galley.
“I also know there are many times I can relate to classmates only because I’m a veteran,” he adds. “Some of these folks have seen combat. They’ve had to watch each other’s backs. And even in class, we’re watching out for each other.”
Victoria Johnson is a classmate of Taylor’s and served four years in the U.S. Air Force. She says their bond is founded on a combination of shared military experience and Taylor’s natural warmth and kindheartedness, even with more than 40 years of age between them.
“I sat by Hurl on my first day of class and was immediately put at ease with his presence,” she says. “I had been nervous about my classes and the academic environment. Understanding the courage it has taken Hurl to go through his career and life made me realize I could settle in and make it through.”
“Many of us have been through challenging times — years of self-sacrifice — and have experienced the uncertainty of military transition,” she adds. “Hurl, more than any of us, understands these bonds.”
Taylor says the “one-on-one” interactions with his classmates have enriched his Emory experience.
On Veterans Day, he left Johnson a handwritten card thanking her for her service.
“Hurl is an incredible mentor and friend,” she says. “He is authentic and honest and truly lives by his values.”
Adjusting to the times
Despite Taylor’s gregarious personality, life at Goizueta wasn’t without its challenges.
“I noticed one thing that was not a strong suit for me: computer skills,” he says.
Ken Keen, associate dean for leadership at Goizueta and a retired Army lieutenant general, recalls one of his first conversations with Taylor: “Shortly after he was accepted to the program, he asked me what kind of computer he needed. I soon realized he had never owned a computer.”
“In society today, things are moving very rapidly,” Taylor says. “I watched how my young classmates were bringing out all these fancy iPads — and i-this and i-that — and I was just amazed. I said, ‘I’m going to learn from these folks.’ And my peers helped me a lot with my digital skills.”
Keen says Taylor is the oldest student he’s ever had and that his persistence to catch up on his digital knowledge is “a great lesson that we are never too young or old to take on new challenges and learn.”
The key to learning, Taylor says, is to absorb information on two different planes: the material taught in the class, yes, but also the ways people interact in different groups and communities. Observations of the latter sort, he says, can do just as much to broaden one’s worldview as the coursework itself.
“My curiosity is piqued by just pure observation and listening,” he says.
To keep his mind sharp, he loves to read — a hobby he started many moons ago when rifling through the classics in his mother’s library.
These days, he’s reading all sorts of things: legal journals to stay abreast of changes in the field and various religious and financial texts.
“I also, of course, read for pleasure,” he says. “I love mysteries, I love thrillers and I love spy novels. I buy a book and know I won’t get to it for several months.”
His classmates, Keen says, have been inspired by Taylor’s tenacity.
“Hurl has been an inspiration to all our veteran students,” Keen says. “My favorite part about Hurl as a student is his contagious enthusiasm, love for learning and can-do attitude. As a combat Vietnam veteran and someone with immense professional experience, Hurl brought tremendous credibility into the classroom. His desire to continue learning and share his life’s experiences made him a special teammate for all of us.”
Applying knowledge
Taylor says a simple but persistent desire to learn is at the root of all nine of his degrees — to be around new people and new information. What he learns in Emory classrooms, though, is not just knowledge for knowledge’s sake; he uses his degrees to benefit his family and community.
“My mother and my grandmother were people of faith,” he says, recalling his upbringing in Richmond, Virginia.
His mother was Methodist, and his grandmother was Baptist. It was always a competition to see who would get the young Hurl for Sunday service.
“I think my grandmother prevailed because she took us to her church all the time,” he says. “But even at an early age, I saw the church was helping people in the community. So, it just became natural: Do what you can. If you’ve got some knowledge, then use that knowledge to help people.”
And that’s what he did.
With his Emory law degrees, Taylor spent most of his career as an attorney, including a stint as a professor at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta. There, he helped establish a legal aid clinic to assist homeless veterans, among other vulnerable populations, with legal counsel.
When he returned to study at Candler, he had similar noble aspirations in mind.
“I was working with my church, and I was interacting with a lot of incarcerated youth,” he says. “They asked me a lot of difficult questions, and I didn’t have the answers to them.”
The MRPL program is designed for those in non-religious fields who navigate matters of religion often in their professions. The program, Taylor says, left him better equipped for the challenging conversations with his young charges.
“You need to give back to the community,” he says. “It’s just as simple as that.”
A bright future
Taylor describes himself as “semi-retired.” In addition to helping his friends and family with their small business needs, he says he plans to spend the next few years integrating what he’s learned at Goizueta into his various business and legal ventures.
Beyond that, he won’t rule out another degree. He jests that a nursing degree could be next so that he can care for himself as he ages.
“If you offer a program that I like, look out,” he says. “You’ll have a hard time keeping me away.”
Hurl Taylor, 86, shares his thoughts on the value of lifelong learning, working with fellow veterans and why he keeps coming back to Emory.