A Baylor Homecoming love story
Baylor Homecoming 2009 was a special one for the Baylor family, as we celebrated the 100th anniversary of Baylor’s (and the nation’s) first collegiate Homecoming. But for Joey Garland, BS ’13, and Kaitie Kerr, Homecoming 2009 was life-changing.
It all started at the bonfire. Kaitie and Joey were each enjoying the festivities on Fountain Mall the Friday night before the Homecoming game when they were introduced by mutual friends. Suddenly, the Homecoming events — the first Baylor activities Joey ever attended — became the scene where a love story began.
“I fell in love with him instantly,” Kaitie remembers. “He gave me his phone number that night and came over to my apartment in the Texana House at North Village the next day to play card games with my friends and me. We’ve been together every day since then.”
Their relationship was sparked, fittingly, at the bonfire, and it grew while they juggled school and work for the next few years. Baylor was the backdrop for their dating days, and it only made sense that it would be the site for other big moments. In March of 2015, Joey proposed on the exact spot on Fountain Mall where they had met five and a half years earlier. After saying “yes,” Kaitie looked up and saw that Pat Neff Hall was lit up in green light “just like when we win games — it made me feel like I had won!”
Kaitie and Joey were married on May 21, 2016, in Belton. She is now a senior communication sciences and disorders major; he graduated in 2013 with an engineering degree. This year’s Homecoming will be their first as a married couple, and they’ll no doubt get a little extra enjoyment from celebrating at the place they call “their favorite place on earth.”
One of the great things about the Baylor family is all of the Baylor families who have their own stories about meeting at Baylor. Do you? This weekend, many Bears will be coming back to see the places and events that hold special memories, like the Homecoming bonfire does for the Garlands. Who knows? Your stories might help spark a love of Baylor in kids or grandkids who might someday follow your footsteps and build their own memories and stories in the Baylor family as well.
Sic ’em, Kaitie and Joey!
[We learned of this story from a Bear who shared her Baylor pride. Do you know of an inspiring story, news item, or just a fun link that makes you proud of Baylor and the Baylor family? Let us know! Click here to submit your point of pride!]