Alumni in Action

The Baylor spirit is vibrant and alive wherever the Baylor Family is active. As Baylor alumni launch from campus into the world, they become representatives of their alma mater’s mission — they are men and women who lead and serve their communities with professional excellence built on a foundation of Christian faith. 

With more than 160,000 living Baylor Alumni from every corner of the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world, the Baylor spirit is active and growing. Alumni remain bound together, though, by the simplest of things — a steadfast love for the University that nurtured and invested in them. Members of the Baylor Family are actively engaged in maintaining their connections with the University, and wherever they go, they take the Baylor spirit with them. 

The Strength of the University 

Toby Barnett, B.A. ’94, associate vice president for advancement and campaign director, sees the relationship between an alum and their alma mater as one that strengthens and encourages both.

As Barnett explained, “The strength of the University is dependent upon sustained and flourishing connections with its alumni, parents and friends.”

A flourishing connection with Baylor does not follow a formula. It can look like attending a sporting event or joining a watch party in your town, championing the next generation of Bears by throwing a send-off party for incoming and current students or electing leadership through the Alumni-elected Regent. Showing up for Baylor can be as varied as partaking of the beloved Dr Pepper tradition, which is now on the road across Texas and beyond, or meeting other Baylor Bears at professional networking events or other affinity group events. 

“The strength of the University is dependent upon sustained and flourishing connections with its alumni, parents and friends.”

Toby Barnett, B.A. ’94

“The core of what we try to do is to sustain and encourage, and to provide value to constituents through ongoing programming,” Barnett said. “We try to do that in a way that maximizes their geographic placement, where they make their homes after leaving the institution, as well as maximizing their strongest connections to the institution. Whether that be through athletics, a professional association or a love of music and the arts, we try to curate experiences in a way that provides meaningful opportunities to engage them as a participant, as a volunteer and then also as a donor.”

Sarah Kathryn Ricci, A.B.C. ’21, assistant vice president of alumni engagement and annual giving, emphasized this point by describing how alumni connecting with Baylor, regardless of where they are, furthers Baylor’s mission.

“Alumni benefit by reestablishing themselves within the many aspects of Baylor’s alumni opportunities. The community that we share is grounded in a shared value system and love of Baylor,” Ricci said. “When alumni support Baylor, whether it is through their time and their talent, or even financially if they feel inclined to do so, they are strengthening that connection by being active participants. Alumni can further the mission of the institution even after they’ve left by just being an active member of the community.”

Finding Baylor Family

For Teresa Lopez, B.B.A. ’84, connection with Baylor as an alumna took five years to spark. She described herself as extremely grateful for her Baylor degree after graduating, but her emphasis was on her career. It wasn’t until five years later that she found herself renewing her connection with Baylor after returning to campus for Homecoming. 

“As cheesy as it sounds, my heart was so full,” Lopez recalled. “The people that I saw and reconnected with, it was almost like I was reliving a little bit of my Baylor experience and all the things that went along with being a student there.” 

Lopez later moved to Colorado, where her connection to Baylor became geographically distant — but her budding connection to her alma mater continued to nourish her. 

“Really it started off watching football games on TV with a small group of people. Then, that started to grow.”

She started to meet other alumni in Denver and had a hand in developing a regional hub of alumni engagement. Now, Baylor alumni in Denver gather to watch Baylor games together, professionally network and participate in social outings. 

“It started off with just a few people, I just started showing up. There was no commitment,” Lopez said of the ease she found in connecting with alumni who shared her interests. “If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve gotten connected with Baylor earlier on because I think there’s power in the relationships and the connections. My advice would be, what are some areas of passion that you have? Then, find a couple of other Baylor people to share that passion with.”

Now, Lopez serves on the Baylor Alumni Board of Advocates and the Alumni Regional Council. She seeks ways to give back to Baylor through her service, encouraging other alumni and contributing to an endowed scholarship in her dad’s name for first-generation students.

“Giving back to Baylor and those connections allows me to kind of scratch the itch of how much gratitude I feel for Baylor. At Baylor, I grew in my faith in ways I didn’t know possible. I grew as a person, and the people I was exposed to and the support I got as a student profoundly impacted my life.” 

Baylor’s Value on Display

The support and growth that many students experience at Baylor become something they take with them into their communities and professional roles after college. Barnett sees Baylor alumni representing the University through the qualities they develop as students to be salt and light in the world. 

“There’s something distinctive about Baylor grads, and that this biblical idea of whatever you do, you do unto the Lord and you do it with excellence,” Barnett said. “Many times, when Baylor alumni move into the world, they stand out because of the qualities of their work. It’s marked by ethical behavior, honesty, integrity, things that add value to the places where they contribute. I also think that as Baylor instills this sense of being service-minded, you move into the civic square and participate in civic engagement either through a church or through politics. Many of those things go back to a student experience that is rich with opportunities to get engaged.”

Part of the influence that alumni can have on their communities stems from the fact that Baylor invests in students and alumni alike as individuals with unique talents and perspectives to develop and offer. 

Evin Dunn, B.B.A. ’14, reflected on how the intimacy of Baylor’s small class sizes where you are more than a number translated to her experience as an alumna. 

“You can make an impact on Baylor as a single individual, and I think that is so cool and so unique for Baylor versus some of our larger state counterparts where you’re just a number. Baylor individually engages with alumni, they know names, they have different events that you could be invited to and connect with your interests, skills and service to your community in and beyond Baylor.”

Dunn sought a connection with Baylor almost right away as a means to ground her in her new community after moving from Waco to Houston. 

“When I graduated, I moved to Houston, and I wasn’t originally from there so one of the first groups I got plugged into was Baylor Alumni. I would say, right off the bat, it was a good introduction to a city I was unfamiliar with and didn’t know anyone in to at least have something in common with people that were at events that I wanted to go to. From there, I got more and more involved in different organizations and found a connection to the Women’s Council of Houston specifically and got to serve in various leadership roles until last year when I served as president.”

For Dunn, the biggest value of fostering a connection with other alumni in her area was sharing the values that Barnett emphasized with people who went to the same school.

“I picked Baylor for a reason. I thought I had a lot in common with my peers when I was a student, so it’s nice to have that connection now with people who could be separated by generations and had different experiences at school, but we at least have that in common.”

“We love to use the term Baylor Family because we recognize that while degreed alumni may be 80% of the people who seek a connection with the Office of Advancement, the force of that additional 20% makes us whole.”

Sarah Kathryn Ricci, A.B.C. ’21

Ricci described the continuity that occurs from the role of student to alum and between alumni as distinctive to Baylor’s Christian mission. 

“When you are here as a student, we are showcasing and role modeling and providing a very clearly defined space where you can practice those behaviors,” Ricci said. “And whenever you can take what you are learning academically in that framework, but also wrap this Christian spirit of kindness, selflessness and service around it, you become equipped to take your professional skills to better the world around you through your work and community.”

Reconnecting with the Baylor community has encouraged and strengthened Dunn in her own social and professional roles as she learns from people who have that shared experience, but who are from all kinds of walks of life.

“I’ve gotten to develop mentor relationships. I have people within my industry that I can call on that I’ve met at these networking events. I just think that it has gone so far to have the Baylor network to be able to have people to call upon and to have people that watch your back just because of that one shared life experience anywhere from last year to 50 years ago,” Dunn said. 

“Even if you haven’t thought about Baylor in 20 years,” she encourages other alumni, “think about coming to an event or meeting. No matter when you graduated, you are valuable to our community.”

An Expansive Family

Ricci emphasizes that the Baylor Family would be incomplete without all members who cherish and support Baylor, including those who did not attend Baylor themselves. 

“We love to use the term Baylor Family because we recognize that while degreed alumni may be 80% of the people who seek a connection with the Office of Advancement, the force of that additional 20% makes us whole,” Ricci explained. “We have a large umbrella that houses Baylor Alumni, Baylor Parent Engagement and Alumni by Choice, which allows us to extend an invitation to participate by also recognizing that these three groups are really important to us.”

George Schroeder, A.B.C. ’24, is an example of what it looks like to forge a meaningful connection with Baylor through a pathway that did not begin with seeking a degree. Schroeder was familiar with Baylor’s athletic department through his previous job covering college football for USA Today, but his first direct tie to the University was as a Baylor Parent when his son, George Schroeder, B.A. ’24, enrolled as a student in journalism. What immediately stood out about his son’s choice in school was the personal connections Baylor fostered. 

“George’s advisor, Bruce Gietzen, was so much more than just an advisor and the director of student media. He is more like a father or a grandfather to George than he is an advisor. I mean, he loves my son. And I began to love Bruce and Baylor.” 

The relationships Schroeder’s son formed with faculty and staff at Baylor were transformational — not only for an undergraduate education but for the whole family. Gietzen became a steadfast academic advisor and friend to the family — he was the one who approached Schroeder about teaching courses in Baylor’s journalism department as an adjunct. 

Schroeder continued to teach courses online when he moved to Colorado. He quickly became involved with the Baylor regional alumni group in Denver as a Baylor parent “because it was fun to be around Baylor people.” 

Another connection highlighting the personal bonds that make up Schroeder’s experience with Baylor led to formally recognizing his love for the school and the people it’s comprised of. Paul Putz, Ph.D. ’18, the director of the Sports and Faith Institute at Truett Theological Seminary and friend of Schroeder, knew of Schroeder’s multifaceted connections with the University, and he nominated Schroeder for the Alumni by Choice decree. Since then, Schroeder started a second master’s at Truett in the Faith and Sports Institute.

“I’m an Alumnus by Choice, and that helped propel me to do a Master of Arts in Theology and Sports Studies. All those things propelled me to love Baylor and then that’s been a catalyst to say, you know what? I’m going, just to do it. So I’m an Alumnus by Choice who then is going to be super excited to one day be an alumnus.”

Every step of connection in Schroeder’s journey from Baylor parent, adjunct and Alumnus by Choice to culminating in being a future alumnus was made possible because of the people who invested in him, his son and his family. Schroeder’s path is by no means a template for connection, but the personal bonds that form around a love for Baylor are common to many stories in the Baylor Family.

“I can’t tell you how much our family loves Baylor. It started with our son’s experience, but it’s the other things too. It’s the way I’ve been able to experience Baylor too, and it started because of a guy y’all had running student media.” 

Evolving Relationship

The entry point to engaging with Baylor is easy and accessible to anyone. 

 “The broadest and simplest level of staying connected is updating your address and making sure that we have accurate information,” Barnett explained, because it allows Baylor to reach out with information about events and connectivity specific to your regional area. 

As Baylor graduates move across the country — or the globe — as they progress in their careers and their families and networks grow, each alum will have an evolving relationship with Baylor that reflects their own life rhythms and values. 

“It’s a dynamic multifaceted connection,” Ricci said. “As you grow, there are modes of connecting with Baylor that grow with you, or additional ways that suit your current professional or personal stage of life. But the different ways of connecting that are open also remain the same because we honor traditions, we value traditions and we shape new traditions to meet the needs of people today.”

“As an alum, you are carving out space in an already busy schedule to connect with Baylor. And why would you do that? Because it is going to be encouraging. It’s going to be rewarding to you to reconnect; it’s also going to affirm some of the things that members of the Family share in common as people that really want to make a difference in the world,” Barnett said. “And where Baylor alumni gather, good things happen. You are encouraged by your peers who have gone on to do important and meaningful things. You are buoyed up by renewing friendships from your time as a student. And so go — you’ll be glad you did it.”

Not only will you be glad to renew a connection with an institution that nurtured you as a student and prepared you for your profession, Baylor will be better for it, as well.