• “I’M GOING TO BAYLOR!” Student’s acceptance video goes viral

    patrick-eriom-baylor-acceptance-letter-video

    By now, you’ve probably seen the video of the high school senior’s heartwarming reaction after opening an envelope from Baylor and reading the words every future Bear hopes to see: “You’ve been accepted for enrollment into the Class of 2021.”

    That senior is future Baylor Bear Patrick Eriom, and his video has gone viral within the Baylor community. If you haven’t watched it (or want to see it again), take a minute out of your day to share in his pure joy (click here if the embedded video below doesn’t load properly):

    For Patrick, Baylor was THE university. No alternative. No fallbacks. So when he came home after a soccer game, exhausted and discouraged by his team’s loss, there was nothing more exciting than his family telling him he’d gotten a packet in the mail from Baylor.

    “I didn’t know what to expect,” Patrick told 1660 ESPN Radio just a few days after his sister recorded the video. “I had mixed emotions coming back from the game. I’m starting to open up the letter — it’s my sister recording, actually… I opened it up and I get to the first letter itself, but I was in so much of a hurry that I just couldn’t read through all that. So I opened up the green envelope and it was honestly the best moment of my life.”

    The video shows Patrick sharing his joy with his biggest supporter and fan, the person who’s been there while he pined for Baylor for years — his mom. “It’s really exciting,” she says. “I’m overwhelmed, and very thankful to God, because this is a dream he’s nursed for years. … For him, it’s a new life and it’s a whole new world, a whole new experience. And as a parent it’s hard to let go, but we just have to let go.”

    Since Baylor shared his video on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Patrick has received hundreds of comments congratulating him and welcoming him into the Baylor family.

    “I’m very grateful to Baylor for giving me this opportunity,” he says. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And also I’d like to give a big thank you to everyone who’s been an impact in my life: my soccer team, my mom, my uncle, my sister especially.”

    Sic ’em, Patrick!