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Points of Pride — Alumni

Mar

2013

Life of Texas Governor (and Baylor alum) Ann Richards being retold on Broadway

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Extraordinary Stories, Videos

Ann Richards play on Broadway This September would have marked Ann Richards‘ 80th birthday. Instead, the life of the Baylor alum and former Texas governor was cut short by cancer in 2006.

But her legacy lives on, most recently in a one-person play, “Ann,” which debuted on Broadway last weekend. Written by and starring Holland Taylor (perhaps best known as the mother on Two and a Half Men), “Ann” received favorable reviews following its opening Thursday. [Click here to see video from "Ann."]

Taylor spent four years researching and writing the play, as detailed in this New York Times story. In three parts, Taylor-as-Richards recounts her life growing up in Texas, relives a day as governor (one of four Baylor graduates to have governed Texas), and her life out of office.

Richards, BA ’54, is also the subject of a new book by Jan Reid. Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards benefits from the author’s long friendship with Richards, retelling her entire life story, from growing up in Waco through her final years.

Sic ’em, Gov. Richards!

Mar

2013

Robert Griffin III Day at Texas Capitol culminates in RG3 Scholarship announcement

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Athletics, Honors, Photo Galleries, Videos

Robert Griffin III in Austin

Tuesday was “RG3 Day” in Austin, as the former Baylor All-American and current Washington Redskin was honored on the floor of both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. Senate Resolution 314 and House Concurrent Resolution 10 commended Robert Griffin III, BA ’10, for his outstanding representation of the state of Texas.

[LINKS: Video from Baylor Athletics || Pictures from Baylor Photography || Texas Monthly: "RG3: A Gentleman and a Scholar" || Houston Chronicle: "Could RG3 soon be a Texas lawmaker?"]

Senator Watson had the honor of announcing the establishment of the Robert Griffin III (RG3) Quarterback Scholarship at Baylor. To participate in this effort that honors RG3′s legacy at Baylor, visit www.baylor.edu/nation/rg3.

The events were just part of a busy week for Griffin around Central Texas that also included visiting Baylor football practice last week (along with former teammates and fellow NFL players Kendall Wright and Danny Watkins), having a street named in his honor (“Robert Griffin III Blvd.“) in his hometown of Copperas Cove, and taking in Baylor men’s basketball’s big win over Kansas (complete with pregame pep talk and his own No. 10 “electricity” jersey).

If you were ever worried about RG3 hitting the big time and forgetting about where he came from… I think you can stop fretting.

Sic ’em, RG3!

Mar

2013

Baylor social media efforts rank among nation’s best in higher ed

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Just for Fun, Student life

February was a busy month of milestones for many of Baylor’s social media offerings, as the Facebook page topped 111,000 likes, our Pinterest page picked up its 2,000th follower, and Instagram crossed the 5,000 follower plateau.

In a new ranking that looks at college and university Facebook and Twitter accounts, Baylor ranked in the 93rd percentile nationally for total fans and followers. Ranked 45th out of more than 600 schools across the country, Baylor comes in ahead of many larger, arguably better-known schools such as Virginia Tech (31,000 students), Southern California (38,000 students) and Florida State (42,000 students).

If you’ve been following along with us on Facebook, Twitter (both @BaylorProud and @Baylor), Pinterest and Instagram — thanks for your support! With every post shared, tweet retweeted and pin repinned you’re helping spread the good word about Baylor. If you haven’t yet joined thousands of your fellow Bears, then give us a look — check out this handy directory for an in-depth listing of where you can find Baylor in social media!

Sic ’em, Bears in social media!

You might also like:
* Baylor named one of top 30 social media colleges in the nation (April 2011)
* Alum at forefront of campaign social media outreach (Nov. 2010)

Feb

2013

Grads pitch Hip Chixs jeans on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Just for Fun, Videos

Hip Chixs on Shark Tank

Viewers of ABC’s “Shark Tank” last Friday night surely caught the Baylor reference tossed out by the ladies behind Hip Chixs, a line of premium denim jeans for women.

[Click here to watch the episode; the Hip Chixs segment begins around the 21:00 mark.]

Baylor grads Megan Jackson Carreker (BS ’01) and Aimee Segura Miller (BA ’01) introduced themselves as “sorority sisters and best friends at Baylor University” (eliciting an “awww” from one shark) as they pitched their product line to the investors featured on the ABC show, including billionaire Texan Mark Cuban and FUBU founder Daymond John. After a round of grilling questions, the show’s five sharks declined to invest in Hip Chixs, but did give the budding entrepreneurs some valuable advice on how to proceed on their own.

Those interested in Hip Chixs can visit their website, hipchixs.com, or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

Sic ’em, Megan and Aimee!

Feb

2013

Cities of Waco, Addison step forward to give young Baylor entrepreneurs a boost

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Academics, Alumni, Student life

Addison-Baylor partnership In the last month, Baylor entrepreneurship students and alumni have received two big boosts, as the cities of Waco and Addison have each partnered with Baylor to provide the budding entrepreneurs a leg up in starting their own businesses.

In March, the Greater Waco Chamber and Baylor will launch “Thinc Space,” a business incubator for creative start-ups that will house Baylor’s Accelerated Ventures Program. Students enrolled in the program will receive free office space downtown for up to two years as they build their businesses; they will also have access to mentoring, support and professional expertise from a network of local business owners.

Each year, eight three-person teams within the Accelerated Ventures Program take a business from idea to reality over the course of the two-semester program. Within 45 days of the beginning of class, they are expected to have launched their company; it should be generating revenue by the end of the first semester, and profitable by the end of the second semester. Each team receives $5,000 in seed money from the Baylor Angel Network. (The program is part of Baylor’s entrepreneurship program, which was ranked No. 2 in the country last fall by The Princeton Review.)

After graduation, Accelerated Ventures Program alums can choose to stay and further cultivate their businesses here in Waco, or take advantage of the second boost: free office space for an additional year in Addison, Texas (north of Dallas), provided by the Town of Addison. There, the new business owners can continue to benefit from the expertise and support of a community of seasoned economic developers, this time in North Texas.

Graduates of the program have already launched companies such as Avundas Skin Solutions, a vitamin C skin care line; Whol-E Water, specially formulated bottled water; Shavespeare, a high-end shaving kit; and Vendevor, which offers a new approach to online sales.

Sic ’em, Baylor entrepreneurs!

You might also like:
* ‘I’m thirsty!’: Alums’ product allows plants to text you when they need water (Jan. 2013)
* Young alum’s San Antonio boutique serving through sales (July 2012)
* Young grad’s company uses water bottle sales to provide water for those in need (Nov. 2009)

Feb

2013

Pigskin proposal named top love story for 2013 in Armstrong Browning contest

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Just for Fun, Videos

At Pigskin Revue last fall, Baylor senior Courtney Carameros was named a Homecoming Princess — but that’s not why she’ll remember that night forever. Later in the evening, her boyfriend, fellow senior Mitchell Frank, proposed to her on stage between acts; take a look:

The couple had started dating three years earlier, as Baylor freshmen, but that kiss you saw at the end of that video? That was their first kiss, either as individuals or as a couple. “Our goal was to only kiss one person for the rest of our lives,” writes Courtney. Their story won first prize in the Armstrong Browning Library’s annual “How Do You Love Thee?” love story contest.

Second place went to Bobby (BBA ’66) and Jeannie (BBA ’69) Hill, who met at Baylor in 1966, were married 11 months later, and last year celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. Two of their three kids graduated from Baylor, and a granddaughter is headed to Baylor this fall.

Third place went to Thomas (BS ’09) and Jamie Horton, who took the opposite route; the pair knew each other as friends for almost 10 years before getting married at Armstrong Browning last summer, with longtime Baylor VP for student life (and current East Texas Baptist University president) Dub Oliver, BS ’87, leading the ceremony.

Sic ’em, Baylor couples!

Feb

2013

Two former Baylor WR finish among NFL’s top 5 rookie receivers for 2012

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Athletics

Kendall Wright, Tennessee Titans NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III wasn’t the only Baylor Bear in the NFL this season; in fact, he was one of 12 to see NFL action in 2012.

Most notably, of RG3′s former teammates ranked among the NFL’s leading rookie receivers. Former first-round draft pick Kendall Wright (Tennessee Titans, pictured) led all rookies in receptions and finished fifth among first-year players in receiving yards, while Josh Gordon (Cleveland Browns) ranked third and fourth, respectively, among all rookies in receiving yards and receptions.

On the other side of the career timeline, veteran Matt Bryant (Atlanta Falcons) finished his 11th season in the NFL tied for second in the league in made field goals. He hit three game-winning field goals in the final 10 seconds of games, including a 49-yard boot to give the Falcons their first playoff win since 2004.

Injuries limited Danny Watkins (Philadelphia Eagles) to just 11 games (six starts), Phil Taylor (Cleveland Browns) to only eight games (seven starts), and J.D. Walton (Denver Broncos) to a mere four games (all starts). But Jason Smith (New York Jets) finally enjoyed a healthy season, appearing in all 16 games for the first time in his four NFL seasons. Jonathan Weeks (Houston Texans) also appeared in all 16 games as the Texans’ long snapper.

Other Bears who saw action included Justin Snow (eight games with the Washington Redskins), Terrance Ganaway (three games for the St. Louis Rams) and David Gettis (two games with the Carolina Panthers). Philip Blake (Denver Broncos) missed the entire season following a preseason hand injury.

Sic ’em, Bears in the NFL!

Feb

2013

Young alum takes study of addiction from Waco to Maastricht to Atlanta

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Extraordinary Stories, Research

Rachel Cliburn, BS ’12, discovered the joy of research while just a sophomore at Baylor, then got to experience life overseas through a study abroad program as a junior.

Those experiences paved the way for her current work as a Fulbright Scholar in The Netherlands researching how the brain affects and is affected by addiction. With her master’s degree completed from the University of Maastricht (the same place she studied abroad through Baylor), this fall Cliburn will continue her research as she begins work on a doctorate in neuroscience at Emory University in Atlanta.

“I don’t think it’s realistic to cure addiction because the problem isn’t just within the pathological pathways of the brain,” Cliburn told the Chicago Daily Herald, her hometown paper. “But we can enable people who’ve struggled to have a more normal and healthy and productive life. That’s the goal, I think, of this research.”

“Rachel Cliburn might be the single most impressive student I’ve had the pleasure of teaching in my nearly 25 years at Baylor,” says Dr. Charles Weaver, BS ’84, a psychology/neuroscience professor at Baylor since 1989. “She is the kind of student all of us dream of teaching, and I have little doubt that in the not-too-distant future, I will see her recognized not only one of Baylor’s most accomplished graduates, but as one of the field’s emerging leaders.”

Sic ’em, Rachel!

Feb

2013

RG3 follows up Heisman with NFL Rookie of the Year honors

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Athletics, Honors

Robert Griffin III Rookie of the Year

Since the Associated Press began honoring an NFL Rookie of the Year following the 1967 season, only two quarterbacks have won the Heisman one year, then ROY the next: Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III, BA ’10.

The former Baylor All-American was named the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Saturday night, capping another year of proving the doubters wrong in his first season with the Washington Redskins. Griffin led the Redskins to their first NFC East championship and their first home playoff game since 1999; in the process, he became the first QB ever to win a Heisman one year, then lead an NFL squad to the postseason the next year.

[WATCH: Great RG3 2012 highlight video and week-by-week highlights from NFL.com]

RG3 became the first player ever to lead the NFL in both yards per pass and yards per rush, and he set NFL rookie records for passer rating, interception rate and rushing yards. Griffin also recorded the fewest interceptions of any QB this season with 20+ passing touchdowns, and he joined Randall Cunningham (1990) as the only players in NFL history with 3,000 passing yards and 800 rushing yards in a season.

For his efforts, Griffin beat out perennial favorites such as Drew Brees and Eli Manning in being named to the NFC Pro Bowl team — the second rookie QB ever to be named to a Pro Bowl original roster (joining Dan Marino).

A late-season knee injury was made worse playing on bad field conditions in the playoffs and led to reconstructive surgery on his right ACL, the same knee injury Griffin suffered as a sophomore at Baylor. Over the weekend, Griffin said he had “no doubt” that he’d be ready for the Redskins’ 2013 season opener.

Sic ’em, RG3!

Feb

2013

Ceremony brings back AFROTC alum to campus following tours in Afghanistan and Germany

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Alumni, Service

Shane Runyon

Since her earliest days, Baylor students have answered our nation’s call in military service. Soldiers of the Wooden Cross: Military Memorials of Baylor University recently chronicled the stories of Baylor veterans killed in service during the Civil War, World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraqi Freedom.

While military education began on campus in 1888, formal commissioning programs were not established until Air Force ROTC arrived in 1948 as one of the nation’s first officer training programs. More recently, Army ROTC joined Baylor’s military programs in 2008. Over the years, Baylor graduates have served in many roles flinging their green and gold afar in military service.

Shane Runyon, BSN ’01, serves as an Air Force intensive-care nurse at Joint Base San Antonio, Brook Army Medical Center. He is also part of a three-person Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT) that evacuates war-wounded service men and women from forward locations via a highly portable ICU to medical treatment facilities — whether they are in combat areas or stateside. He has served three six-month tours with CCATT teams in Germany and Afghanistan, transporting, comforting and saving the lives of our wounded.

Last Friday, Runyon returned to campus for a memorable event — his promotion to major in the Air Force Nurse Corps. Because Shane originally commissioned at Pat Neff Hall in 2001, he wanted to return to the Ring of Honor to recite his oath of office for promotion. Lt. Col. (ret.) Jeff Bowles, BBA ’83, director of electronic marketing for Baylor and former AFROTC Det 810 commander (2001-04) presided while Runyon’s family looked on.

Sic ’em, Shane and Baylor/Air Force nurses!

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