Given in Gratitude

As proud Baylor University alumni, Bill, B.B.A. ’60, L.L.B. ’63, and Carol Kelley, B.A. ’59, have always supported their alma mater, but their most impactful and enduring legacy at Baylor will come through their two most recent gifts — the William G. and Carol M. Kelley Endowed Scholarship in both Accounting and Law.

“We have a deep sense of gratitude for what the scholarship at Baylor has allowed us to accomplish,” said Bill. “We hope our scholarships will support students now and into the future in the same way the banking scholarship supported us. The students we want to support will be able to enter immediately into the workforce after graduation, and we chose to fully fund these scholarships so that support would start now.”

As high school sweethearts in the West Texas town of Pecos, Bill and Carol saw their futures laid out in front of them. After Bill graduated as valedictorian and Carol as salutatorian, they planned to attend the University of Texas, where Bill intended to study engineering. That all changed when Walter Holcombe, president of the bank in Pecos where Bill worked in the summers, advised him of a banking scholarship at Baylor being offered by The Citizens National Bank of Waco. Holcombe encouraged Bill to go to Waco and apply for the scholarship. Bill learned the scholarship covered tuition, room and board and would pay the recipient to work part-time at the bank while attending school, an opportunity he was prompt to take advantage of.

Bill and Carol started at different universities before Carol transferred to Baylor, and they were married after their sophomore year. After graduating, Carol began her career as a teacher while Bill worked at The Citizens National Bank in Waco, eventually earning an additional degree from Baylor Law School. The Kelleys acknowledge the life-altering impact scholarships can have. Through their gifts to the University, they join the legacy that transformed their own lives as they invest in the future of other Baylor students.

To learn more about how you can join Bill and Carol in supporting scholarships at Baylor University visit the Extend the Line Scholarship initiative.