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Freshman defeated rare cancer to join sisters at Baylor

In February, the Dallas Morning News profiled high school senior Cody Novak as his basketball team prepared for the state semifinals. Novak, however, was sidelined in the midst of fighting a rare, aggressive form of cancer that developed into a grapefruit-sized tumor on his thigh and threatened to take not only his basketball career, but his life. Nine months later, Cody — now a freshman business major at Baylor — is, amazingly, cancer-free. Mult…

Student body presidents represent BU while in office and beyond

Came across two stories on Baylor student body presidents recently — one past, one present. New student body president Jordan Hannah (pictured) was elected this spring and recognizes that as president, he speaks for the student body — and he will represent them well, if his quotes in this story from his hometown newspaper, the Cleburne [Texas] Times-Review, are any indication. For instance, here’s his answer to a question about Baylor’s Christian…

Bear heading museum for the Man behind the Mouse

Some 17 million visitors visit Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom each year, while another 12 million or so head west to Disneyland. Combined, that’s a total larger than the population of Texas, so chances are good that you or someone you know is headed to see Mickey this summer. Baylor grad Richard Benefield, however, is taking things a step further; the 1976 music graduate (who also earned a master’s from Baylor in 1980) is the director of the W…

Summer camps, programs at Baylor keep campus bustling

I’ve written before about how my first exposure to Baylor came through a summer debate camp, and I doubt I’m alone. There are camps and programs going on at Baylor all summer for people of all ages and covering all kinds of subjects, from sports to cheerleading to science and other more academic studies. The Renaissance Scholar Program for high school juniors combines studies of engineering and technology with readings from more traditional liber…

Strength coach instilling a new attitude in Baylor football workouts

Since his hiring a year and a half ago, Baylor head football coach Art Briles has gotten plenty of credit for the team’s improvement — and rightly so, I think. Just as coaches get blamed when a team suffers, they should be applauded when a team wins. But that’s not to say there aren’t other people contributing mightily to the effort. For instance, there’s Baylor’s assistant athletic director for strength and conditioning, Kaz Kazadi. A former pro…

Inspiring Elliott, now a sophomore, continues to serve

At the age of 19, sophomore Kristin Elliott has not only completed her first year at Baylor; she’s also battled cancer in her leg and lungs and raised nearly $300,000 for an orphanage and AIDS clinic in Zambia. But her work isn’t done, and she continues to raise money for the project. That’s why Houston’s KPRC Channel 2 recently honored her with a Jefferson Award, given for extraordinary public service. (Click here for their video.) She also was …

Baylor Law prof to provide testimony for Congressional committee

The U.S. House has turned to Baylor for expertise on a particularly delicate subject. Should minors tried as adults be subject to life sentences without parole? Today — maybe even as you read this — Baylor Law professor Mark Osler is testifying in Washington, D.C., before a U.S. House of Representatives judiciary subcommittee, one of a select number of experts invited to give testimony supporting a House bill which would ban that practice. The U….

Colombia native making a difference in the U.S. and Africa

Here’s one of our first submissions from an alum, and it’s yet another Baylor graduate with quite the life story! Maria Corena McLeod grew up in Colombia and taught herself English there by watching American movies. She graduated college there at age 18 and went to work, but found she “wasn’t making a difference.” So, she up and moved to the United States, eventually graduating from Baylor with a Ph.D. in chemistry in 2000. After a stint as an as…

Introducing BaylorProud 2.0!

Welcome to the newly redesigned Baylor Proud blog! We hope you enjoy the new look and feel; after nearly two years, we felt it was time for a refreshed design, so here it is! (Click “Read the rest” to learn about all the new features.) We also took this opportunity to introduce a couple of new features. The first is located at the bottom of every post — small graphic links that allow you to easily share a Baylor Proud post that you enjoy with you…

Students addressing local and global poverty issues with fervor

Over the past year, I’d heard some buzz around campus about the incredible amount of student involvement in organizations dedicated to addressing the issue of poverty, both locally and globally. But I had no idea just how many groups around Waco are dedicated to tackling the issue until I saw this story and the related sidebars in the latest issue of Baylor Magazine (hitting homes this week). We’ve covered some of the groups here before: the ONE …