#BearsOfBaylor — “People wanted to see me thrive academically, spiritually, socially…”

“I originally came to Baylor because I was interested in studying medicine and was going pre-med, but as I started taking classes here and grew more and more in my faith, I realized it was a decision I made for all the wrong reasons.

“Fortunately, through the University Scholars program, I switched to studying linguistics and religion. It’s been a lot more fun for me. I’m so passionate about language and words and the way people talk, what that communicates about them, and the way that they see the world. I’m currently writing a thesis on Christianese and church lingo. We recorded some small group conversations and got to analyze the way that people talk, how they see themselves, how they see God.

“I applied to be a CL because I was so blessed by the community I had my freshman year. I came from a school where there was cutthroat academic competition, so I was always used to seeing my peers as people I had to compete with. So living on a hall where people wanted to see me thrive academically, spiritually, socially, was really refreshing for me, and that’s been a huge blessing for me at Baylor.

“I grew up playing baseball for nine years, and I was an umpire for three or four years. When my dad came out to visit we high-tailed it out to the baseball stadium. I love going to a school that has a killer baseball team this year.”

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