The Intangible Transformation

By Frances George

One daughter graduated from Baylor last May and is successfully launched in Dallas.

One daughter is a freshman at Baylor, finding her way in this wonderful new world called college.

And I? I am in North Carolina learning that the best lessons in life happen to our children when they are on their own. I am watching and learning much from afar.

A few weeks ago, we traveled from North Carolina to Texas for Family Weekend at Baylor. The weekend also dovetailed with our elder daughter’s birthday…in Dallas. Mary Scott, the elder, had requested dinner at the top of Reunion Tower in Dallas, where an iconic restaurant sits 50 stories high, slowly rotating a full 360 degrees while you eat, offering spectacular views of Dallas and beyond. After having the dinner reservations arranged, we were excited about a family dinner in Dallas with our two girls! One problem, our younger daughter had her first concert at Baylor in the Women’s Chorus that same night. Oops. I made the (hard to secure) reservation before checking the calendar.

Catherine, the younger, said, “Mom! It’s college. I’m okay. I’ll get one of my friends to record the concert with me singing in it and I’ll show you Saturday. Have fun celebrating Scottie (the elder).” Catherine? Is that you? Our youngest, you see, really revealed in the reality of a few years at home as the “OC”…Only Child…when Mary Scott went to college. We never missed anything she did. And now this? But we will take it! So, my husband and I traveled to Dallas Friday night and with the thrilled Mary Scott, rode the elevator to the stratosphere while Catherine sang notes in the stratosphere at her concert… but as a first, without us in the audience. Mmm. Something is happening here. I can’t quite see it but a transformation seems to be taking place in our new Baylor freshman.

Meanwhile, as Catherine sang, we enjoyed dinner with Mary Scott and as the restaurant slowly turned, telling the story of Dallas, we heard the story of post-graduate life, her amazing job in marketing and events (thank you Baylor Corporate Comm degree!), the new church she’s found in Dallas and how the transition from college life to “real life” is a transition more significant than that from high school to college and one for which no one can really prepare you. She told us of how she treasures her now golden friends from Baylor and the supper club in Dallas they enjoy each week. She told us how her time at Baylor was the season that defined the person she is today and that she has no regrets of the time she spent at Baylor and how she spent it. “It made me who I am and my faith, it’s mine! Who I am, is uniquely me!”

As the night progressed and the restaurant high above the Dallas skyline continued rotating its slow 360 degrees, not only did I find myself enjoying the exquisite sunset, the birds-eye view of the place where part of our country’s history unfolded, where highways intertwine like ribbons below, and where the faint outline of the new Cowboy stadium highlights the distance, now I found myself enjoying something new and even more exquisite in my Dallas view: a young Baylor alumna who will make a difference here as she did at Baylor.

Over dessert, as the evening began to wind down, Mary Scott asked us for the one best piece of parenting advice we would give her to file away for another chapter in life yet to come and the one best piece of general advice we would give her for right now. After we gave our advice, I then asked Mary Scott what would be the one piece of advice she would give us about our parenting and about life in general. And as the sun set on our unparalleled view of Dallas, Mary Scott answered our query and I realized that the real unparalleled view was not the cityscape on the other side of the glass but the daughter sitting right across from us. She told us, “Mom, Dad, you taught us well. But now as you let us go and you look back on the life we had together at home, don’t beat yourself up over the 1% or even the 5% you did wrong. Be grateful for the 99% you did right. You did so very much right. I am grateful. I am half of you (dad) and half of you (mom) and all me and I like who that person is.”

And suddenly I saw it. A lovely transformation had taken place. An intangible transformation.

The next morning, bright and early, we headed to Waco to see our younger daughter. First sighting since August and move in, first return trip to Target with Mom and Dad for just a few more things, fill up the car with gas, get the car washed, meet new friends and more new friends, treating Catherine to dinner along with a few of her friends from NC and Georgia whose parents could not make the trip, church on Sunday, brunch and before we knew it, time to say goodbye. A few tears? Yes. Confident that Catherine had made the right choice? Without question. But, is there an intangible transformation taking place among this one too, I wondered?

The answer came a few days later in a text. It had been a week of tests and meeting with professors and still settling in academically. Catherine texted, “My devotion was so great this morning. It was about priorities. It’s easy to think about all that some have and compare it to what I have or don’t have. Now I know to just be myself. I’m really loving I can just be me at Baylor! Oh Mom, thank you for sending me to this place, my new home, where I can just be me.”

“I can just be me.” Don’t you wish you had known that the first month of college? How grateful we are that our youngest has found the key that will unlock so many doors. Our daughter is just beginning her journey, traveling the first few degrees of her own “Reunion Tower” experience, and the view is lovely so far. Not without tears. Not without disappointments. But her sights are properly set, thanks to Baylor.

I realized when I read Catherine’s text, that in our youngest, an intangible transformation had taken place, just as the transformation had begun in her big sister just a few short years before when Mary Scott was a freshman.

Parents, are you looking for a place where students graduate with a sense not only of who they are but with a deep appreciation of who you are as parents and are grateful? Then look no further than Baylor. In a world of universities where so many students graduate with a degree in ‘dismissing parents’, Baylor is unique. At Baylor, parents are held in high esteem all four years and beyond!

Parents, are you looking for a place where students are encouraged to look in the truth of the Word and find that they are fearfully and wonderfully made and that the priority is knowing Christ and in knowing Him they find themselves? Then look no further than Baylor. At Baylor, students are encouraged to be the young men and women God created them to be.

So the next time you drive through Dallas, look up at Reunion Tower on the south end of town as you head to Waco. And think of Baylor. Think of the slowly turning sphere that represents the slowly turning chapter in the circle of life that happens in college, when young students look out in this big new world and explore the question “Who am I?” and discover, “I can just be me” and watch the world unfold before them as they settle in this newfound confidence. Look at Reunion Tower and think of Baylor, where they grow into men and women who, when they come full circle, are not only confident in who they are but are grateful for who you are, and are ready to live well, thankful for a place where this lovely intangible transformation took place. And to think, it all happens in a place called Baylor.

And that’s the Baylor difference.

Welcome to Baylor! And this is only the first week …

By Frances George

As the Baylor Class of 2020 arrived on campus last week and began settling in for their first week of class, I knew I could write about many things.

I could write about the phenomenal Move-In Day experience, where there were no fewer than 2,000 students, faculty, staff and administration on campus, greeting new students, with 200 of the 2,000 at our daughter’s dorm, waiting on the sidewalk as we drove up, surrounding our car and unloading everything (and I do mean everything – I carried up a lampshade), taking every box up to Catherine’s room, all the while saying, “Welcome to Baylor!”.

I could write about the countless sorority young women who volunteered their time, stopping by my daughter’s room and every other room on the hall at two to three minute intervals, asking if there was an empty box they could carry away for us (there were about 40 in our room alone!) and then happily carting them away only to return a few minutes later for a quick picture with Catherine and then taking down another load. We didn’t carry a single box up or down a single flight of stairs.

I could write about the way top administrators stopped by our daughter’s room (and the rooms of many others) just to say “Welcome to Baylor” and hug our daughter’s neck, asking if Catherine needed anything, genuinely grateful she was there.

I could write about the third generation Collins Hall freshman who made cookies for the girls in my daughter’s dorm, wrapped them beautifully, put her room number and name on the cookies and said, “Be sure and come visit!” Those cookies said to me, “I’m at home here and I want you to feel at home, too!” And yes, the cookies were delivered by all three generations!

I could write about my new friends Nana and Afia, a mom and her Baylor freshman daughter, stranded at the DFW airport with no way to campus from Dallas except via a Greyhound bus, as every single car at the airport was rented! The mom saw my Baylor Parents Network bag on my shoulder and asked if I was going to Baylor. Yes! And suddenly I had new friends in Baylor Nation and we had a delightful ride to Waco!

I could write about the ice cream social at the Fountain and the food trucks and the music and banners and signs printed for students and family to hold up in pictures – “First Day of College” and “Sic’em!” and the hundreds of freshmen meeting new friends, taking pictures, NC Baylor Nation gathering for a Fountain Photo, and the joy that was permeating the air and the rain that stayed away.

I could write about a big sister, just graduated in May from Baylor, who drove down from Dallas after work, just to stand beside her freshman little sister and say, “Welcome Home to OUR campus!” and then turn right around and head back to Dallas in the driving rain. Or that she had asked her six best friends, also Baylor graduates, to give one piece of advice to her little sister and then took the time to come back to campus two days later and take her little sis out for coffee and read the advice, and then hang the requisite twinkle lights in little sis’s dorm room…

Yes. I could write about all of those things and more but the most outstanding memory I had that brought the biggest tears of joy came when I returned home – 1,200 miles away – as I read a text on Sunday afternoon from our freshman daughter, Catherine. You see, on Sunday evening just before classes began on Monday, the freshman class gathered in the Ferrell Center for a final “Welcome Week Worship Service.” Catherine had texted off and on about events of the weekend and the new friends she was meeting at every turn. I hoped all was well but you know, you can’t really read emotions in texts but this one came through loud and clear:

“I love my family and am so grateful for your support and prayers and now I am so pumped for the service tonight. I might call you sometime later….”

Those words and the happy emotion came through loud and clear, saying to me, “Mom, I’m grateful and Mom, I’m ready and Mom, this place is now my home and a place where I will easily encounter Jesus coming and going in the lives of my friends and the faculty at Baylor.”

How do I know this to be true? Because I saw it at the airport when I met a new member of Baylor Nation in need. I saw it on Move-In Day with countless students and staff showing us something very unique and wonderful in their welcome. I saw it in my alumna daughter who took the time to be with her little sister and remind her that she chose well and Baylor will be the most wonderful home for her too.

As I flew home and read my devotion from The Daily Light, there was a sense of calm and “right” about leaving our youngest at Baylor. I looked out the window at 30,000 feet and saw the vast expanse before me and then I read this: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him.”

An amazing, vast, and unfathomable experience beyond what we can imagine awaits our Baylor students in the days, weeks, and four years to come. How great is our God? How blessed we are to have Baylor being woven into the lives of our students.

So, for all of those reasons and a million more to come, that is the Baylor difference. Welcome Baylor Class of 2020. It’s going to be (another) amazing year.

Midnight Rescue Team

By Maggie Malone

Recently, I joined up with an unofficial student group called “The Whatever” to impact the Baylor campus with a kindness challenge called #arkweek2015. It was a great chance to step out of my dorm, make some new friends, and shower my campus with love and kindness by completing different challenges.

One of the highlights of the week, though, was Thursday night, where a group of us banded together around midnight to encourage those studying in the library. We divided into two teams: Team Delivery, and Team Propaganda.

Team Delivery loaded up into cars and acquired dozens of fresh tortillas from Taco Cabana, meanwhile, Team Propaganda went ahead to the library to create encouraging notes that would be passed around with the tortillas.

After all the prep was complete, my little group of four disappeared into the crowded basement of the library, and handed out the warm snack and cute little notes. It was great to see the reactions of the exhausted students, some surprised, and then absolutely delighted, as a delicious tortilla and a note was placed into their hands.

The Midnight Rescue Team mission was a success, and it brought us closer together, as well as perked up some of our fellow students. Although I was exhausted by the end, my heart was happy and my spirit was overflowing with cheer.

blog post whatever

Home Stretch

By Susannah Mohrmann

Summer is ALMOST here!

One major difference between high school and college is that even though summer is highly anticipated, it is much harder to say goodbye to a year than it used to be. Although I am looking forward to classes ending tomorrow and going back to Houston this summer, leaving is going to be much more difficult. Why?

College is fun. Baylor is incredible and my second home. I love living in Waco, and I love my friends and my life here. With the end of the school year, some friends are graduating and being away them for three months is tough. Though I miss my family and friends at home, leaving my roommates and friends here in Waco is hard because we are going all over the United States this summer (Minnesota, Camp, Arkansas, Dallas, Virginia, LA, study abroad).

This summer is especially weird as it is my last “real summer”. I have a PR/Marketing internship at MMI Agency in Houston. I cannot wait to apply what I am learning at Baylor throughout the internship. Still, senior year is daunting, real life is coming, and I am excited. I am excited to finish the Baylor Bucket List, I am excited to watch Baylor Football one last time as a senior. Next year, I look forward to meeting new people, build deeper relationships with current friends and learn as much as possible before I begin life in the real world.

With that said, summer is coming. I’m going to miss being in Waco and I will miss my Baylor family this summer, but I look forward to what is to come for my Baylor senior year.

 

5 Reasons I’m Glad I Went Out-of-State for College

By Kelly Gould
Senior Admissions Counselor

Texas

I’ll admit it. I was a late college decision maker. If you’re like some of my friends and have known since birth where you would go to college that’s cool, but that wasn’t me. There I was, April of senior year and I still hadn’t decided where to go to school.

Would I stay close to home or take the leap and move four states away to Texas to attend Baylor? I really wanted to come to Texas and go to Baylor, but there were fears I had to face. There were the fears I could identify — being far from my family, missing my friends, the distance. But then there was also just the general fear of the unknown. Clearly, since you’re reading this, you know that I ultimately decided to come to Baylor, and I’ve since graduated, lived abroad, and now work here and love it.

But in case you’re in the same boat, trying to decide whether or not to come to Baylor from out-of-state, I thought I’d share the 5 reasons I’m glad I went out of state.

1. Independence
To be honest, the thought of the independence I would have in college was both exciting and terrifying. But more than not having a curfew for the first time in my life (which was pretty great), the independence I experienced in coming to college out-of-state forced me to mature and become more confident in myself. The personal growth I experienced and the confidence I developed helped me after graduation when I decided to spend one year living abroad teaching English.

2. Lifelong Friends
I was sad to leave my friends from high school and was nervous about starting over in making friends, but it didn’t take long to make connections at Baylor. I met one of my lifelong best friends while I was eating lunch on the very first day of college. From Orientation to Welcome Week, Baylor creates a lot of opportunities for you to develop new friendships.

3. Second Families
No one will ever replace your parents and siblings, but a perk of going to college out of state is that you will find second families. An out-of-state friend of mine had appendicitis our freshman year and our good friend’s mom who lived nearby came and took care of her at the hospital until her mom could make it to Waco the next day. You will not be alone. Period. And people will want to adopt you and welcome you into their families and activities.

4. Bravery
Going to school out-of-state made me brave. I’ve always been a dreamer but had often been scared by the unknown. Making the decision to move thousands of miles from home made me realize that I’m braver than I thought I was. I think you’ll find the same thing.

5. Texas
Truthfully, I had my doubts about Texas in general. It seemed like the people I knew who were from Texas just LOVED it and thought it was the best place in the world. Well, I might have been a little resistant freshman year, but I’ll admit that by sophomore year I’d started accidentally saying “y’all.” By junior year I’d bought my first pair of cowboy boots, and by senior year my parents wanted to move to Texas. No matter what stereotypes you have about Texas, it was a great place to go to college and now I really enjoy living here.

I hope this helps ease any fears you may have about coming to Baylor from out of state. If you want to talk more, feel free to call the office at (254) 710-3435.

Sic ‘Em,

Kelly

The House

By Frances George-A Baylor Parent

Last week my daughter, Mary Scott, called. She had been sick all week. The semester was drawing to a close. There were many things still on her plate before the semester ended. Sometimes 20 hours from home seems like a long way. But as I sat on the steps of our house and listened as my daughter spoke briefly of how badly she had felt that week physically, the call quickly turned to a more serious topic. She needed advice regarding a dear sorority sister whose mother is very ill and how to minister to her. In those moments of sorrow, I realized, what a wonderfully unique bond these girls have and how they are there for one another. I shared my advice of how to love and support in tangible and quiet ways, things I knew Mary Scott and her sisters would do with tender care and devotion. 20 hours seemed more like just down the street because just down the street was family…the sisters in her house.

At Baylor, sororities and fraternities do not live in traditional houses. The students instead, rent houses along several streets next to campus and then pass these houses down to younger members of the sorority and fraternity through the years. One little cottage of Kappas might be next door to a house of KOT men who live down the street from Chi O’s and across the street from Kappa Sigs. It’s more like a neighborhood of brothers and sisters than just random people in a college town. It’s family.

A week or two earlier, Mary Scott called and relayed a wonderful event her sorority and their dates attended, a tremendously fun outing to a Mavericks game in Dallas. Mary Scott and her co-chair were responsible for around 200 sisters and their dates, the logistics for transporting the group to and from Waco to Dallas and back as well as every other detail that is involved in a large out of town event (That is the life of the social chairs!). Mary Scott’s date, a fella from a fraternity on campus was the star of the night! “Mom, he was the best date! He encouraged me as I did my job and was patient when I had to attend to details, was helpful when I needed him and was still attentive to me, which made the evening special for me even though I was ‘on duty’”. Similarly, this has happened with another young man when Mary Scott was overseeing details for pledge formal for her house. The young man was a gentleman throughout the evening, encouraged Mary Scott, came early, and stayed late to cheer Mary Scott on. And I think they even managed to squeeze in a few dances together in the midst of the busy-ness, from the pictures I saw! He was “just the best!”

Why do I tell you these things, some of the events supremely happy ones and others borne out of deep sadness and sorrow? Because in the past months I have read with increasing upset, accusations against Greek houses on some campuses across the nation and though most, if not all, have been proven to untrue, they still leave the public with a bad taste in their mouths for collegiate Panhellenic (Greek) fraternities and perhaps, by extension, sororities.

But once again, the Baylor difference IS the difference. In all of these cases, whether in sorrow or supreme joy, the Greek system at Baylor has developed and trained young men and women who are able to rise to a challenge, whether it is planning a Dallas outing for 200 or being a shoulder on which a sister may cry who is in a very hard place. The girls in these houses greet each day with grace, dignity, and as examples to their community of what brothers and sisters are and what they do for one another.

I have spent much time on campus over the last three years getting to know Mary Scott’s friends in both sororities and fraternities. Many who know me here in North Carolina have heard me say more than once, that I have yet to meet a young man at Baylor that I would not be pleased to have Mary Scott introduce to us as a young man in whom she is interested in dating and all of these young men, without exception, are in fraternities. They have proven to be gentlemen, kind hearted, considerate of our daughter and “there” for each other. Mary Scott said it was at least second semester of her freshman year that she ever opened a door herself! A young man would rush ahead of her to open a classroom door, a car door, or a door to a campus building. Some may take offence at this gesture. But at Baylor, a gentleman is always welcome.

I have shared coffee with Mary Scott’s friends, both guys and girls, with and without Mary Scott in attendance, and I have been pleasantly welcomed by some of the most thoughtful young men and women, as they engage me in conversation as if they see me every day. But they haven’t! Remember, we live in North Carolina…20 hours away! That’s just how Baylor students behave. They are comfortable with peers and possess grace to spend time (even) with Mary Scott’s mom!

These young men and women in the Greek system at Baylor are unique. They serve. They lead. They have fun…a lot of it! They are polite. They are well spoken. They are gentlemen. They are ladies. They laugh together. They cry together. They pray together. The encourage one another. They lift each other up. They are experiencing life to the fullest together. They are a reflection of the institution they represent. And we will all be better because of their influence on our culture as they mature and go into the world. They are Baylor. And I am grateful.

As the time draws near for your student to decide where they want to invest the next four years of their life, it is my deep hope that they will choose Baylor. And even when 20 hours seems far, the quiet moment on the steps with a phone makes it seem like it is just down the street. The strength of character from outstanding young adults who support one another through joy and sorrow makes the distance seem small. Family is close by, the Baylor Family and their names just happen to be Greek… Kappa Kappa Gamma, Chi Omega, Kappa Omega Tau, Kappa Sig, Phi Chi…

So, won’t you join us for coffee at Common Grounds after class, breakfast at Café Cappuccino after Sunday church, or dinner at Ninfa’s when you arrive in town, with some of the most winsome and wonderful young adults you will ever know. Thank you Greek Life. Thank you, Baylor; the place where The House represents The Family. And suddenly it doesn’t seem so very far away.

Spring Premiere at Baylor

By Susannah Mohrmann

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to work Baylor’s Spring Premiere. One of my jobs as a Campus Visit Representative is to work events like Fall/ Spring Premiere, Invitation to Excellence and Know Where You’re Going Day. Though these events are long and exhausting at times to work, they are also some of the most rewarding days of my job. However, Fall and Spring Premiere are by far my favorite events to be a Campus Visit Representative and if you are considering Baylor be sure to reserve your spot next year and come visit us!

Fall and Spring Premiere are a couple of unique opportunities to come to Baylor’s campus on a Saturday from 9am-4pm. Any age student who is interested in Baylor can come and bring their families too. The day consists of attending a choice of three different academic sessions led by a program director or professor (almost all majors have sessions). Lunch is provided in our four dining halls on campus for families and students. Admissions and financial aid officers are available all day to talk and answer any questions you and your family may have. Dr. Pepper Hour is a necessary stop (FREE Dr. Pepper Floats – Dr. Pepper + Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream). Throughout the day, there is also an option to go on a tour of campus given by a Campus Visit Representative, like myself!

Attending a Premiere is an incredible way to experience Baylor’s campus and see if it might be a good fit for you … or better yet to decide that Baylor is your future home!

Going Abroad with Baylor

By Maggie Malone

Are you wanting to push your boundaries, discover new cultures, and maybe even land an internship? Check into the Center for International Education at Baylor! There you will find a treasure trove of opportunities to travel and study abroad.

When I first came to Baylor, I was determined to try one of these programs out. But where would I go? After exploring a bit online and visiting a study abroad fair in the fall, I settled on the Baylor in London FIE program, which includes both studying and an internship. After working hard on form after form, I am ecstatic to be leaving with a group from Baylor this fall!

abroad flag But my program isn’t the only option out there! Baylor boasts seven types of ways to go abroad!

  1. Exchange/Affiliate Programs With these programs, students travel on their own to affiliated universities around the world and study as a visiting or international student.
  2. Group Semester Programs Students travel with others from Baylor and study together. (Baylor in London FIE is one of these.)
  3. International Conference/Competitions These programs vary by academic department, however who knows what kind of opportunities you may find within your major!
  4. Mission Trips While these trips aren’t studying abroad per se, Baylor has a variety of mission trips locally and internationally that students have the opportunity of serving with.
  5. Faculty-Led Programs These programs vary by department as well, but, like many of the study abroad programs, you can get quite a bit of academic credit.
  6. International Internships Chances are, your major requires an internship. And even if it doesn’t, and internship is strongly advised. While you do the research yourself online, Baylor gives you the opportunity to head abroad yourself and chase your dream.
  7. International Research These trips are more for grad students, and are department based, but the chance to research in a different culture is an excellent way to gain knowledge and perspective about the world around you.  

baylor in paris

Honestly, I’m a little nervous about studying abroad in London. I’ve never been there before, and I have no idea what completing an internship in the UK is going to be like. But on the other hand, I’m excited. Who knows what kind of adventures I’m going to have abroad? What I do know is that I’ll have plenty of exciting stories to bring home with me.

Going abroad with Baylor is an exciting chance for you to explore a new locale, make some new friends, serve a mission, and pick up some academic credit along the way! Not only that, but you’ll get to have plenty of stories of your very own to share when you get back to the states.

Building A Bigger Baylor

By Jaziah Masters

As many of you may know, Baylor has a pretty large campus. Fear not! Campus seems to shrink, just a little, with each passing day that you spend here. However, as I walk around, I can’t help but notice things are beginning to look a little different. What’s going on reminds me of a well-known quote, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

So, you may be thinking to yourself, what really is going on around campus? Great question! I should mention now that I am a person who loves concept art. There will be a lot in this post…

Getting back to the question, what is going on around campus can be summarized in one word: Construction. There are several construction projects going on throughout campus that, upon their completion, will make our beautiful campus that much better. It’s pretty nice to think that as I seek to grow and become the person that I am supposed to be, Baylor is doing the same, but a little more on that later.

So, you may ask, then what is Baylor up to? Great follow up question! You may have already heard of some of the new projects that have already been completed, such as the redesigned, Penland Dinning Hall and, of course, McLane Stadium. These are just two recently finished examples of changes around campus. Some new projects that will be finished soon are:

Elliston chapel

Elliston chapel

business school

The Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation

fountain mall

And, my personal favorite, the Fountain for Fountain Mall

All of these renovations and additives are pretty incredible. Even more so is the fact that it won’t be too long before all of these improvements are operational. Campus is already pretty different from when I was a freshman, and I’m just a Sophomore now, so I can only imagine what it will be like in a few years.

You may be wondering how all of this connects with the quote I opened this post with. Allow me to explain. Baylor is entering into a defining period in its history. This University has strong momentum in terms of academics, athletics, and alumni. The way I see it, the construction on campus is simply a physical display of that momentum. Baylor University is becoming more and more of what is supposed to be. In other words, Baylor is realizing its potential. The growth I see on campus, in a way, reflects the growth of the student body, as we strive to become the people we know our Baylor education will allow us to become. Overall, there is some pretty exciting stuff going on!

Library Lowdown

By Maria Dillman

In my childhood whenever I thought of a college library, I had a distinct image in my brain that was formulated from scenes I had seen or heard about. My parents would say “I used to spend every night in the library…that’s all I did was study.” Or the movies would describe a steamy encounter between couples among the bookshelves. When I got to college I was able to formulate my own opinion from spending time in the different libraries on the Baylor campus. Times have changed since the imagined scenes from my parents, movies, or friends. But I will impart a little information about the Baylor libraries to give you a better glimpse into life at this university.

We have five libraries on the campus: 2 central ones Moody and Jones, then special collection ones named Poage, Carroll, and Armstrong-Browning.

Moody:

Moody is the main library: with four floors ranging anywhere from a hustle and bustle of the Starbucks café to quiet study rooms where you can hear a pin drop.

The entryway of Moody hosts the nation’s largest Starbucks located on a collegiate campus. The foyer has brown comfy chairs and café style tables for group projects to meet at and talk. It is more of a social entryway, and not much studying would be accomplished here without the help of ear phones.

moody

The Study Commons of Moody is located on the Garden Level and is lovingly known as “Club Moody” among students due to the 24 hour available study space and wide variety of individual and group study spaces. It also is host to the largest computer lab on campus hosting a variety of PCs and Macs along with laptops available for checkout.

Jones:

This is where the research magic happens. The library hosts more than 2.5 million printed volumes, but 80% of the budget is spent on electronic resources with over 70,000 e-journals, and 500 databases for use. This can all be accessed via your login credentials from the comfort of your own home. This is also where the information desk of libraries is held. Librarians provide research assistance via the walk-up assistance desk and additionally, can be reached by an online chat session similar to a Facebook message.

jones

Poage:

R. Poage Legislative Library holds a variety of materials used for research and educational use on the history of Congress, the legislative process, and current issues facing state and national governments.  It is also home to the offices for our multiple study abroad programs.

Carroll Library Housing the Texas Collection:

This library hosts the special collections and archives of Baylor University and Texas history. The librarians here are so helpful in finding anything you could ever want to know about Texas or Baylor history. Most research materials cannot be checked out from here but must be handled within the building…sometimes even with gloves on for fragile documents.

Armstrong Browning Library:

This is a true gem on the Baylor campus. This library looks more like a museum than a library and hardly anyone actually studies here. It has the largest collection of secular stained glass windows in the world. And it hosts the largest collection of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s work (you may recognize that name from English class…”How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”) Several weddings have taken place in this library and its serenity gardens on the outside are a great place to relax or enjoy a picnic.

armstrong

The libraries at Baylor are a range of sociable, studious and stunning opportunities for enrichment. Maybe now, you have a better picture of them for yourself.