#BearsOfBaylor — “I transferred to Baylor after my freshman year…”

[For Community Leader Appreciation Week, we’re sharing thoughts from CLs across campus all week; today, an Earle Hall CL.]

“I transferred to Baylor after my freshman year. I went to the University of Oregon, and my RA there was just very absent from the hall, and kind of avoided us at times if she was busy, and I didn’t know her at all. When I came here, there was such an immediate difference with my CL from the very first day. Meeting people, introducing them, asking them, ‘Hey, come hang out with us and play games and stuff!’ and connecting people to resources. That made the world of difference for me, coming to Texas for the first time away from home. If I could be that for someone else — that’s what I wanted to do.

“I have one resident who was having a lot of family struggles at home. In talking to her, I realized that I had similar problems growing up, with my parents and family when I was younger. Just talking with her and seeing her journey through the process and the ways that she drew strength from the people around her really inspired me to be more like her. I think a lot of times as a CL I think, ‘I’m here because I have answers for you, and I’ve been through a lot of things so I can help you through it.’ But helping her through her family problems helped me. I think it really taught me to rely more on other people, other friends, other family members, and to just be more connected in a way I wasn’t before.”

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