Prepared to Lead — For God and Country

Syeeda Echols, MDiv ’20, has been called to many locations and vocations throughout her life in her pursuit to follow God. Echols gained higher education in Kansas and Arkansas before joining Teach For America in New York where she earned her first masters degree. She was an international teacher in both Venezuela and Guatemala following a passion to live abroad.  

She returned to Kansas for a second bachelor’s degree in religion and philosophy with the concentration in Christian spiritual formation. During this time, she was working at a summer camp and had a chance encounter with an alum from Baylor’s Truett Seminary. He encouraged her to apply and visit, and, by the time she arrived for Preview Day, she had already been accepted.  

“God just gave me so many confirmations that Texas and Baylor were my next step,” Echols said. 

Echols enrolled in Truett Seminary and described her time there as a whirlwind in the best way. She was in awe of the professors and peers alike meeting her where she was in her spiritual journey and encouraging room for questions about faith and vocation. Truett students have many opportunities to build community in and out of the classroom. One of these opportunities is the Truett Black Seminarians Association.  

“The Truett Black Seminarians Association (TBSA) was game-changing for me,” Echols said. “Somehow, they nominated me to become the president after my first semester, and then I served as president for the remaining three years while I was there. TBSA gave me the gift of studying and preparing for future careers alongside close friends and made room for conversations about the cultural and spiritual influences when we talked about Christianity. Their support and networking helped me become the ministry leader I am today.” 

“Dr. Ngan, Dr. Alcantara, and Dr. Gloer are three professors who continued to say that God is using you when I have doubts,” Echols said. “I pray that everyone has professors who continue to affirm what God is doing through them when they don’t believe it or may be nervous about what the future holds.” 

Going into the fall of 2019, Echols had just completed a hospital chaplaincy internship in Hawaii at the Queens Medical Center and secured a full-time residency upon completion of the last year of her degree. When COVID hit, everything came to a halt including Echols’ future plans when the hospital cancelled her program.  

“I hadn’t applied for any other jobs,” Echols said. “When I started frantically applying for some higher education positions, no one knew what the world would look like. I ended up moving home to Wichita, expecting to be there for maybe two weeks, and I was there for four years.”  

“It has been a journey,” Echols said. “When I was at Baylor, I was a resident chaplain at University Parks, a residence hall which housed international students, graduate students, first-year athletes, and upper division students. The diversity of personality and walks of life has prepared me for the work I do now with soldiers, veterans and their families, even occasionally international soldiers.” 

Now, Echols is the Director of Religious Education for the U.S. Army. She is currently at Fort Leavenworth near Kansas City. As one of the few civilian roles on the base, she fondly describes Sunday mornings like a Super Bowl scramble.  

“We lead five services out of three chapels every Sunday morning,” Echols said. “Monday through Friday, we are preparing for Sunday: creating or approving curriculums, providing resources and books, and working with around 200 volunteers that actually lead the different services, ministries, and studies.”  

Commonly referred to as DREs, Echols is one of two directors of religious education on post. Together they serve on a team of Chaplains and Religious Affairs Specialists in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. This team provides religious support and to help soldiers and their families in every stage of deployment, as well as veterans.  

Such a big undertaking is rarely ever just a job; it’s a calling. “I am fortunate because ministry is not just what I do, it's not a title I put on,” Echols said. “I live my life following Jesus. And so that means from nine to five every day I'm following Jesus. And then from 5:01 to whenever, I'm still following Jesus. I am truly grateful to serve God in such a special way.”