‘Baylor is a place where I found belonging’

We could write a month’s worth of posts about recent Baylor graduate Kristen Nakamura (BA ’25). She was a Getterman Scholar, and a University Scholar studying English and math with a minor in creative writing. An award-winning poet whose Honors thesis and undergraduate research included translating the post-WWII haiku shared between her Japanese-American great-grandmother and her twin sister. Tutor. Piano teacher. BRH Choir member. Mission trip veteran. HRC College Council. Summa cum laude graduate. Phi Beta Kappa. Fulbright ETA recipient to Indonesia.

But for all of those honors, what Nakamura really wanted to talk about was the community and sense of belonging she found at Baylor.

“Something that I loved about Baylor that I felt immediately… There was an instant feeling of belonging and connection that amazed me,” she recalls. “And each year that I spent at Baylor, that feeling only grew and strengthened and intensified.

“Now that I’m graduated, I think I can look back and say Baylor is a place where I found belonging, and I learned what belonging meant, but it’s not a place where belonging stays. I don’t look back now and say ‘I can only belong at Baylor.’ I’ve learned how to take this belonging and share it with other people, and how to invite other people into it. And now I know I can take it with me wherever I go. That’s one of the most valuable things I’ve learned at Baylor, apart from academics — knowing how to invite others into a sense of community and welcome.”

Nakamura also raved about the faculty and staff from across the university who played pivotal roles in her Baylor experience:

• Her thesis director and creative writing professor, Dr. Ginger Hanchey (“She’s been wonderful and so supportive.”)
• Her Japanese language professor, Dr. Yuko Prefume (“She pushed me beyond what I thought possible. To have someone who believes in you like that is so valuable.”)
• Math professors Dr. Lance Littlejohn and Dr. David Ryden, who also teaches Great Texts (“We were talking about some homework and ended up on Aristotle and Plato. It’s a great example of how Baylor faculty are not only very interested in interdisciplinary things, but they are learners.”)
• Her Honors Residential College faculty steward, Dr. Jason Whitt (“I’ve never taken a class with him, so I can say he has become a mentor and a friend. Someone with such a heart for students.”)
• Honors Residential College associate director Courtney DePalma (“I tutored her daughter and taught piano lessons to her son, being a part of their family and visiting their house and being welcomed in. That’s been one of the most special experiences at Baylor.”)

Hanchey summed it up best.

“Kristen represents the best of us at Baylor. Her openness to different disciplines comes, it seems to me, from an openness to others that we should all emulate. … Kristen is one of the most kind and compassionate people I know, and she lives with an understanding that the more we learn about the world through math, poetry, classical mythology, etc., the more equipped we are to help others.”

After finishing up her fourth summer mission trip with BRH, Nakamura is headed to Japan to teach English through the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program.

Sic ’em, Kristen!