#BearsOfBaylor — “I really truly wanted to be able to offer the same sense of community I got…”

[For Community Leader Appreciation Week, we’re sharing thoughts from CLs across campus all week; today, a University Parks CL.]

“I’m a first-gen college student, so my parents didn’t go to college either, and I’m the oldest, so I really didn’t know what to expect at all. Then one of my professors, Dr. LeCompte, really gave me a sense of belonging. I used to never speak up in class, but I remember she would ask me, ‘What do you think about this?’ I would say my opinion, and she would say, ‘Every time you open your mouth, you say something that I enjoy hearing…’ That sense of belonging and being able to voice my opinion in class and have somebody say, ‘Your opinion matters, and you have a place here at Baylor,’ is something that helped me out a lot.

“I lived in a residential community for two years as a freshman and sophomore simply because I loved the aspect of community. I didn’t choose to go off-campus to an apartment, because I loved what was offered to me by my own CLs, and I really truly wanted to be able to offer the same sense of community I got to other people and be there for them throughout whatever they needed with an offer of community that just had no judgement, where they could be whatever they wanted to be.

“There were a few girls who were struggling at first with feeling like they belonged, like they had someone to go to. I would ask, ‘How are you doing?’ and they were kind of afraid to really be open with me. I think they thought that since I was in this high position, I was perfect and couldn’t relate to their problems. I remember one in particular, I came to her like, ‘Hey, I struggle with that too sometimes.’ And I remember her being really surprised, but after that she was able to open up to me.

“Being at Baylor has honestly been the most transformative and best experience of my life. … I’ve had my mind opened ten-fold. I’ve just had a bunch of professors who truly cared – not just about my grade, but they cared about me learning and growing as an adult and as an individual. So, if someone was going to come to Baylor and wasn’t really sure, I would tell them, honestly, your mind is going to be opened with knowledge, and you’re going to have people who truly care about you.”

[Every Baylor Bear has a story; #BearsOfBaylor brings those stories to you, one by one. These stories, these people… This is our Baylor.]