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Points of Pride — Just for Fun

May

2012

Sic ‘em, Class of 2012! A look back at your four years at Baylor

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

Congratulations, Class of 2012 — you made it through! (In case you think you dreamed it, here are pictures from this weekend’s commencement ceremonies to prove you really did graduate.)

It was a busy four years, wasn’t it? Let’s take a stroll back down memory lane; click the links for past posts (and in many cases, photo galleries)…

You arrived four (or maybe five) years ago… We introduced a few of you back in the spring and summer of 2008: National Merit finalists, aspiring doctors, Gates Millennium Scholars, Eagle Scouts, and plenty of valedictorians. You attended Line Camp, then joined the Baylor Line, and Freshman Follies broke any ice that remained.

During your time here, you welcomed a new president, helped Baylor to its highest U.S.News rankings ever, and got to help guide the direction Baylor will take for the next 10 years as the new strategic plan was shaped.

Technology progressed, and you followed along as Baylor launched Twitter accounts and an official Facebook page. That helped you know of visits from all the prominent guests who sat foot on campus, from George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice and Sandra Day O’Connor to David Crowder, Max Lucado and ESPN’s College Gameday basketball crew.

Four years on campus means four Diadelosos (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), four Sing performances (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) and four Homecomings (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). [Mark your calendar now to return for Homecoming 2012, Nov. 2-3.] You even enjoyed a couple of snow days.

You celebrated national titles in track, women’s basketball and equestrian, Baylor’s first bowl game and first bowl victory in years, and two men’s basketball Elite Eight runs. You cheered on Robert Griffin III to that unbelievably believable Heisman win and saw Bears taken in the first round of the NFL, NBA and MLB drafts.

In between all that, you found time to serve, serve, and serve some more. You helped out after Hurricane Ike, went on mission trips, started Campus Kitchen, built homes for Habitat, and went out on two Steppin’ Outs a year.

As you graduate, you join the 150,000 living alumni who, while you’ve been in college, have been winning awards (from the Olympics to the Grammys) and leading the way across all fields — from government to real estate, ministry to medicine, sports to education, technology to travel, health care to law. They’ve also been giving to support you and Baylor, from scholarships to stadiums.

What a ride! Graduates, we look forward to continuing to tell your story here on Baylor Proud — we’ll just check the “alumni” category instead of “student life” next time.

Sic ’em, Class of 2012!

May

2012

Senior trip to Independence perfect for popping the question

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

The Baylor story began nearly 170 years ago in the small town of Independence, Texas, near Brenham. Today, about half of Baylor students begin their college careers with a visit to the original campus during Baylor Line Camp. So what better place for a Baylor couple to begin their lives together than right there in Independence?

That’s what senior Drew Shows figured, so he took the occasion of the annual senior trip to Independence, organized by the Baylor Alumni Network, to pop the question to his girlfriend, senior Elisabeth Erickson. Drew got down on one knee in front of not just 120 fellow Class of 2012 seniors, but also a dozen or so family members who showed up to cheer the couple on (complete with a “Please Say Yes” sign held by Elisabeth’s brother). [Click here for more photos.]

Having started her Baylor career at Line Camp, “it was really cool to be completing full circle starting there and ending there!” says Elisabeth. “Drew wanted a place that was significant to Baylor, since that is where we met and fell in love, and what better place than the original site of the school?”

The future Mr. and Mrs. Shows will each graduate this weekend, Drew with a degree in risk management and insurance and Elisabeth with a degree in nursing. After graduation, they are moving to Fort Worth (where Elisabeth will continue her BU connections, working as a NICU nurse at Baylor All Saints Medical Center). The wedding is slated for next spring.

Sic ’em, Drew and Elisabeth!

Previously on Baylor Proud:
* Baylor guys find creative ways to propose to their Baylor girls (Sept. 2011)
* Foreign language leads to love for Baylor couple (Nov. 2009)
* Baylor campus wedding locations abound (March 2009)
* Oprah features a true Baylor love story (Nov. 2007)

May

2012

Dove Award nominee writes powerfully about seeing her Tony Award-nominated BU roommate reach her dreams

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

Jenny Chisholm Simmons and Elizabeth A. Davis About a decade ago, Jenny Chisholm Simmons (pictured on left), BA ’03, and Elizabeth A. Davis (on right), BFA ’03, were roommates at Baylor. Davis was even a bridesmaid in Simmons’ wedding.

Today, the pair share something else: success. Simmons is the lead singer of a Dove Award-nominated band, Addison Road, while Davis is a Tony Award-nominee for best actress in a musical thanks to her role in Broadway’s Once.

About a month ago — even before news of Davis’ nomination came out — Simmons wrote a moving post on her blog about her joy at seeing her Baylor friend’s dreams coming true. You really need to read the whole piece; it makes some very poignant points about how one relates to another person chasing his/her dreams. Consider this a teaser:

“But mom, all I want to do is a catch a bird.”

I wonder sometimes what I will tell the Emergency Room staff when I check her in with duck-bite-wounds. I imagine them saying something like, “Well, how did she get close enough to a duck to get bitten? Why in the world was she holding a bird in her hands? Where were the adults?”

And I will have to say, “I was there. I was there praying to God that He would please, for the love of all that’s holy, just let the kid catch a bird. It’s all she wants to do in this life.” And the nurse will shake her head in displeasure.
…

“Why are you smile-crying Mom?”

Go read the whole thing here, and then check out Davis and others from the musical’s cast performing on Late Night with David Letterman.

Sic ’em, Jenny and Elizabeth, Once, and Baylor friends everywhere!

[Do you have a story like this that resonates about Baylor friendship? Or perhaps you know of an inspiring story, news item, or just a fun link that makes you proud of Baylor and the Baylor family. Either way, let us know; click here to submit your point of pride!]

Mar

2012

Join your fellow Bears at Baylor Network watch parties all over the country

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

When the Lady Bears face Stanford Sunday night (8 p.m. CT, ESPN) in the women’s Final Four, Baylor fans all over the country will be gathered to cheer them on. Some will be there in person at the Pepsi Center in Denver; many others will be in living rooms and restaurants across the nation.

Fans in Waco are invited by Baylor Athletics to watch the game at the Ferrell Center. Doors open one hour before tip-off; admission is free and seating is first-come, first-serve. Concession stands will be open, and Athletics will be giving away a few door prizes.

Baylor Network gatherings

Outside Waco, as they do for many major sports events throughout the year, the Baylor Sports Network has organized watch parties for Sunday:

Dallas (Uptown Grill, 2523 McKinney Ave.)
Houston (BlackFinn, 1910 Bagby)
Longview (Buffalo Wild Wings, 3072 N. Eastman Rd.)
Denver (Brother’s Grill, 1920 Market St.)
New York City (The Australian, 20 West 38th St.)
Washington, D.C. (Crystal City Sports, 529 23rd St. South, Arlington, VA)
Los Angeles (The Parlor, 7250 Melrose Ave.)
Seattle (Rock Bottom, 550 106th Ave. NE, Suite 103, Bellevue, WA)
Oklahoma City (Buffalo Wild Wings, 4130 Northwest Expressway #110)

All of these sites (in Waco and around the country) will again host gatherings should the Lady Bears reach the championship game on Tuesday. (For more details on these parties and any others that may be added, click here.) If you’re in the area, join your fellow Bears in showing your Baylor pride at one of these gatherings this weekend!

Sic ’em, Bears!

[Fans in Denver will also want to join the team for some of the events surrounding the Final Four, including an open practice and autograph session Saturday afternoon and a Baylor Alumni Network pep rally that night. Click here for a complete schedule.]

Mar

2012

Better Baylor Sweet 16 dunk: Acy or Griner?

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

Both the Baylor men’s and women’s basketball teams are headed to the Elite Eight, but we’ll have more on that later. Right now, the question of the moment is: Whose Sweet 16 dunk was sweeter — Quincy Acy’s monster alley-oop vs. Xavier (one of several on the night), or Brittney Griner’s two-handed breakaway vs. Georgia Tech (her second in two games)? See both below:

So what do you think? Take our poll below.

Sic ’em, Baylor basketball!

Mar

2012

Does Baylor prepare its students better than any other March Madness competitor?

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Academics, Athletics, Just for Fun

If March Madness success was determined by “core skills” instead of “court skills,” Baylor would come away champions.

That’s the word according to the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), who each year grades colleges and universities on their core curriculum, measuring how well each school graduates students with a well-rounded education. In ACTA’s most recent study, Baylor was one of only 19 institutions nationwide to receive an “A” for its core curriculum.

When you apply those grades to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket, as seen above, Baylor comes away victorious. Duke, Florida, Michigan Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, Vanderbilt, Virginia, even Harvard — none requires its students to pass as well-rounded a survey of classes as Baylor.

Sic ’em, BU!

Feb

2012

Scenes from Sing 2012

Posted by The Baylor Proud Team in Just for Fun, Photo Galleries, Student life, Videos

One of Baylor’s grandest traditions, All-University Sing celebrated its 60th year in 2012. Today, 1 in every 10 Baylor students is a participant in Sing, and an even higher percentage has a hand in the event in some way at least once during their four years at Baylor.

[WATCH: A brief history of Sing || A montage of 2012 Sing practice sessions || "SINGing the Dream," from Baylor Photography]

Congratulations to this year’s winners — Kappa Kappa Gamma & Kappa Sigma (first place), Kappa Omega Tau (second place), and Delta Delta Delta & Alpha Tau Omega (third place) — as well as the other five acts selected to perform at Pigskin Revue this fall at Homecoming Weekend (Nov. 2-3): Alpha Chi Omega, Chi Omega, Phi Kappa Chi, Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji), and Pi Beta Phi. (Click here for a photo gallery from Sing 2012.)

Sic ’em, Sing participants!

Feb

2012

Basketball senior night to feature special halftime performance

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

Tonight is senior night for the Baylor men’s basketball team, as outgoing student-athletes Quincy Acy, Fred Ellis and Anthony Jones take the Ferrell Center court for the final time. Showing your support for the winningest class in program history should be enough to get you to the Ferrell Center — but in case you need a little more push, consider this:

Former Baylor center Mamadou Diene, BA ’08, will be swing dancing at halftime. All 7-foot-2 of him. With a partner who stands just 4-foot-10. ~~[UPDATE: I'm now told that Diene will not be able to make it tonight, due to a bad ankle.]~~ [SECOND UPDATE: Okay, now I'm told it's back on -- bad ankle and all. Look forward to seeing it tonight!]

If that doesn’t get you to the Ferrell Center tonight, I don’t know what will.

The pairing first took the floor last month as part of a “Dancing With the Stars of Waco” fundraiser for the Talitha Koum Institute, a mental health center for children here in Waco; the event raised more than $15,000 for the institute.

[SEE: Pictures, video and more from the Talitha Koum event, courtesy the Waco Tribune-Herald]

If you can’t make it to Waco, you can tune in both the Baylor women and men tonight as part of ESPN’s Big Monday. The Lady Bears play Texas A&M in College Station for perhaps the final time starting at 6 p.m. on ESPN2, and the men then host Texas Tech at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

Sic ’em, Baylor basketball (and Mamadou)!

Feb

2012

Official Baylor Facebook page tops 75,000 likes

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

Earlier this month, the official Baylor Facebook page passed 75,000 likes — an impressive achievement for a school of barely 15,000 students.

As one might expect, those likes come from all over the United States, but also from a long list of other countries. Some are predictable — Canada and Mexico rank second and third on the list — but many are not. India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Egypt each rank among the top 12 countries, with more than 100 Baylor fans in each.

Even as Facebook’s overall growth has slowed, Baylor’s numbers have yet to plateau. The page launched in September 2009, topped 40,000 likes just more than a year later, and now hit 75,000 15 months after that.

Are you a fan yet? If not, go check it out here. Then check out this list for more Baylor social media connections (Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels, etc.).

Sic ’em, Baylor Facebook fans!

Feb

2012

Broadway, Nashville, Portland and Waco showcase talent of Baylor Theatre alums

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

Julius Caesar starring Eddie George Earlier this month, we covered Baylor Theatre’s recent performance of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — but that’s far from the only place to see BU theatre students and alums in action.

Waco theatre fans got to see Elizabeth Davis, BFA ’03, tell her life story From Baylor to Broadway in a small show on Valentine’s Day at Mission Waco’s Jubilee Theatre. In just a few weeks, Davis will be back on Broadway in the debut of Once, based on the 2007 Irish film.

For three weeks last month, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival ran a production of Julius Caesar that starred former Heisman winner and Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George in the title role. The show was directed by Beki Baker, BFA ’04, MFA ’09, and based on a script adapted by Baker’s husband Scott, BFA ’00, MDiv ’08. Another Baylor alum, David Wilkerson, BFA ’91, choreographed the show’s fight scenes. All three Bears received high praise in this review of the show from BroadwayWorld.com.

Out west in Portland, Chris Coleman, BFA ’83, wrote and is directing a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline at Portland Center Stage, the second largest theater in the Northwest. The show runs through April 8 and is receiving strong reviews.

Sic ’em, Bears in theatre!

[We learned of these stories from several Bears who shared their Baylor pride. If I'm missing anyone currently active in theatre -- or if you know of another inspiring story, news item, or fun link that makes you proud of Baylor and the Baylor family -- let us know! Click here to submit your point of pride!]

Previously on Baylor Proud:
* Baylor alums nominated for New York theatre awards (Aug. 2010)
* Baylor theatre profs, alums put together off-Broadway run in NYC (March 2009)

Whose dunk was better?
	Quincy Acy
	Brittney Griner
�
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