• A sneak peek at Baylor’s Class of 2021

    Giavonna Yarbrough

    Every summer, we take a look at some of the freshmen who will be joining the Baylor family come fall. The incoming Bears in this sneak peek include students who reached milestones and earned honors that resonated in their hometowns, across the state and across the country. Here’s an early look at the class of 2021:

    * Killeen (Texas) Ellison High School graduate Alexandra Davies comes to Baylor this fall after spending the last year as a study in determination. Disappointed at having fallen just short of making All-State Choir as a junior, Davies decided she’d do better as a senior. She spent her early mornings over the past year in the choir room, working with her directors and taking voice lessons; not surprisingly, she earned that All-State Choir nod. Davies described the selection as “surreal” and says singing has been her passion since third grade. She plans to study music education at Baylor with hopes of possibly becoming a choir director herself.

    Jada Holliday is one of only 161 high school students nationwide to be recognized as a U.S. Presidential Scholar, one of only five such scholars from the state of Oklahoma — and a Baylor Bear. The Broken Arrow High School senior co-led a club for AP students and participated in Health Occupations Students of America, a student leadership development organization that promotes health care careers. Not surprisingly, she plans to enter the pre-med track at Baylor and major in biochemistry.

    * After home-schooling for most of his elementary years, Jake Kanyer started at Veritas School in Newberg, Oregon, as a fifth-grader. He’s leaving the school eight years later as co-valedictorian and a National Merit finalist to head 2,000 miles south to Baylor, where he’ll be part of the Honors Program while studying political science.

    * Rudder High School valedictorian Giavonna Yarbrough (pictured above) made history in her hometown of Bryan, Texas, earlier this month when she became the first African-American valedictorian in her school’s history. In fact, her school district says she may well be the first in the entire city. In her valedictory address at commencement, Giavonna told her fellow classmates that she was “elated to be able to do this for my community… Success is of course possible with God, but if you add your own drive and your own push and you strive for it, you can reach it and make it.”

    Sic ’em, #BU21!