• A sneak peek at this fall’s freshman class

    (clockwise from top left) Tom Soda, Megan Atchley, Matt Mackay, Courtney AcarreguiAs graduating high school seniors make their final choices on what university they will attend this fall, Baylor is already gearing up to welcome in the next group of freshman — the class of 2013. Here’s a quick glimpse at some of the faces that will be gracing campus in just a couple of months:

    * Nigerian-born Mosope “Tom” Soda grew up near Houston and graduated last weekend from B.F. Terry High School in the top 10% of his class. An Eagle Scout, Soda was also recently recognized with the President’s Volunteer Service Award for the time he has spent serving his community. He will enter Baylor as a pre-med major and hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon.

    * Megan Atchley spent four years as a cheerleader at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but still found time to serve as president of Amnesty International and Young Democrats of Tulsa. She plans to double-major at Baylor in Spanish and political science, then attend medical school to become a reconstructive plastic surgeon.

    * Matt Mackay was not only an all-district linebacker at Amarillo High School; he also will graduate No. 8 in his class of 496 and scored a 34 out of 36 on his ACT. High school football coaches are stereotyped as tough men, but Mackay’s coach, Brad Theissen, speaks highly of the senior: “Matt was a dream to coach and is such a good guy to be around. I can’t say enough nice things about him.”

    * Sisters, Oregon, native Courtney Acarregui has always been a competitor, whether that’s participation in 4-H (where she was one of the top youth rabbit breeders in the nation four years running), raising funds for charity (she helped write a grant that netted a local neonatal intensive care unit $10,000) or riding horses (she will join Baylor’s varsity equestrian program this fall).

    Sic ’em, Tom, Megan, Matt, Courtney and the class of 2013!