Kristina “Krissy” Doerner Guidi (’00): Read our recent interview with Krissy for an update on her life and work. Krissy is a Baylor Regent and an attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She will be our distinguished guest for our 2020 BIC Alumni Homecoming Lecture.
Rob Sinclair (‘01): I am still living in Annapolis, MD with my wife Ann, four-year-old son Robbie, and one-year-old daughter Evie. I recently celebrated my 10 year anniversary with Anne Arundel County Police Communications where I work as a police dispatcher and 911 call taker (although the real celebration will come in 20 years when I retire). I hope everyone is staying safe and sane through the pandemic. Mask up, Black Lives Matter, and in the immortal words of Marshawn Lynch, take care of y’all’s chicken. One love.
Rachel Smith (’01): Read our recent interview with Rachel for an update on her life and work. Rachel practiced law at Baker Hostetler as an associate and then partner for nearly 15 years. She left the firm in June 2019 to move with her husband, Michael, and two daughters, Olivia (11) and Claire (7) to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Roman Hamidan (‘02): BA Arts Anthropology – Baylor 2002, M.Ed.- instructional specialist – UTEP 2007. Current profession- Secondary Mathematics Active Learning Leader for El Paso ISD. Previous: 15 years as a math teacher
David Ocamb (‘03): This year we moved up to the Northern Virginia / Washington DC metropolitan area so my wife could take over as Chief Development Officer for the Armed Services YMCA. I continue to work at the same advertising agency as the Chief Research Officer. Our son is now one year old and is still somehow relatively low maintenance and relaxed (comes from his mom!). While we have had to cut back on all of our usual international travel, we do continue with some domestic travel and anxiously await the time we can return to exploring this world around us!
Elizabeth (McDaniel) Kemker (’04) will be celebrating 15 years of marriage this fall to Benjamin Boone Kemker, Jr, who works for International Paper and is a Captain in the Tennessee National Guard. She and her husband live in Collierville, TN, a suburb of Memphis, and have two children, son Liam (9) and daughter Meredith (6). Elizabeth will also be marking her 12-year anniversary with CACI, Inc. as a senior business analyst supporting the United States Navy MyNavy HR enterprise.
Caleb Gardner (’05): Read our recent interview with Caleb for an update on his life and work. Caleb has worked for nonprofits, startups, and professional firms like Edelman and Bain & Company. Some of his most meaningful years were spent running digital strategy for President Obama’s political advocacy group, OFA. A few years ago, he co-founded an innovation consulting firm, 18 Coffees.
Mimi Wiggins Perreault (‘05): I recently moved from teaching at Appalachian State University to East Tennessee State University (Fall 2020), where I am now an Assistant Professor of Media and Communication. I still live in Boone NC and commute to Johnson City, TN for work. In the past year I have worked on several teaching and research projects, including some with current Baylor faculty. I am still doing research on crisis communication, disasters, journalism, and Public Relations and advising the regional publication Overlooked in Appalachia (overlookedinappalachia.org).
Ashley Turner Parker (‘05): Since graduating, Ashley has been living in the Dallas area building a career in brand marketing. She earned her MBA from SMU in 2012 and has held a few different marketing and advertising positions with various companies since graduating from Baylor in 2005. More recently, she was the Head of Brand Marketing for Travelocity, and then when her son was born she made the move to a small advertising agency where she runs the client services group and consults with small and large businesses on how to build effective and meaningful brands. She married Talley Parker, an attorney in Dallas (originally from northwest Arkansas) back in 2013. They have a 2.5 year old son named Henley Brooks Parker and are expecting a baby girl in November!
Jessica (Govers) Darrouzet (‘09): After earning my BA degree in Economics with minors in Math and Political Science from Baylor, I taught high school math at an inner city school in Dallas. In 2010, I married Peter Darrouzet in Dallas. I became a stay at home mom when our first son William was born in 2011. He is now 9 and I also have a 7 year old son, Oliver, a 5 year old little girl, Amelia, and a 3 year old son, Henry. Three of my children have autism so much of my time is spent helping them with therapy and operating my successful Etsy business. As a family we are very involved in Scouts BSA (Boy Scouts of America). My husband is an Eagle Scout and I earned my Gold Award in high school. I recently took the Wood Badge course, the premier leadership training course in Scouting and was the first in my course to earn my beads after completing 5 projects for the betterment of scouting totalling over 100 hours of service. I am also the Activities Chair for our scouting district in the DFW area and a Unit Commissioner. I love being able to give back to my community in this way and I love instilling the values of scouting in my kids and the kids in our community.
Alyssa (Brown) Brynsvold (’10) married Kyle Brynsvold in December 2019, and they currently reside in the DFW area. In May 2020, Alyssa graduated with her Masters in Theology (ThM) degree, with an emphasis in Bible Translation, from Dallas Theological Seminary. Alyssa now serves the children and families of the Bachman Lake community as the Director of Elementary School Literacy of a non-profit organization called Casa Del Lago.
Samantha (Rylander) Wallace (’10) is currently in the process of publishing her second book, a paranormal romance short story anthology titled The Supernatural Reasons Why I Love You. She is also busy editing the sequel to her original novel, The Heart of Everything. Both will be available under her pen name, Lynn Wallace, in print and digital forms through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other retailers – visit www.lynnwallaceauthor.com for more information! You can also connect with her (as Lynn Wallace) via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. She continues to work part-time as a nurse for the Victoria Eye Clinic in Victoria, TX while her husband serves as teacher/ librarian/ media center director for Edna ISD. Their son Luke turns two this fall, and they are now hoping for a second baby in the near future!
Steven Follis (’10) joined Amazon Web Services in August, where he leads business development activities for a portfolio of cloud services. In June, Steven and his wife Kimberly established the George Allen Haile Endowed Scholarship Fund for Truett Seminary in honor of his grandfather, a life-long Baptist minister in Louisiana. Steven and Kimberly reside in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Danielle Cooper (‘16): After her time at Baylor, Danielle attended the University of Texas School of Law, graduating in 2019. She passed the Texas Bar in 2019 and has been practicing employment law in-house since then. She lives in downtown Austin, TX and recently adopted an eight-year-old pup named Wilbur. If you have questions about going to law school or other career questions, she’s can be reached at danielledakotacooper@gmail.com.
Will Nations ( ‘16): I’ve been working from home to save Baylor ITS web services from COVID-19. There’s been tremendous effort put in, but it’s all paying off, and I can say I’m quite proud of the work that’s been done. Still, working from home has its own drawbacks. I’ve found that rescuing dogs during the pandemic helps replace tedious days at home with love, cuddles, and energy. Participating in virtual events with others is also a great way to connect with Christian communities. I recently attended and gave a talk at the Christian Game Developer Conference (Virtual) about a new cutting-edge game technology to great success. With the combination of Baylor’s C++ programming courses and BIC’s rhetoric skills, expressing my ideas to a group and bringing those ideas to life has never been easier. Now I co-author Godot Engine, software used by tens of thousands of people across the world.
Shannon McClenahan (‘17): After graduating from Baylor with a B.S. in Environmental Health Science, I spent 2 years as an ORISE Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. Last November I moved to Fairbanks, Alaska to join the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. As an Environmental Health Officer for the USPHS, I work with an Alaska Native health corporation to provide a wide variety of environmental health services to Native communities in Interior Alaska.
Priyankaa Bhatia (’17): I am currently starting the second year of my PhD at UT Southwestern in Dallas in Cell and Molecular biology. I am studying oocyte aging and why female eggs go “bad” in your 30’s! I use microscopic worms (C. elegans) for my research. During the lockdown, a classmate and I decided to start a science podcast! We launched it very recently—it’s called “Incubation Time.
Alex Plott (‘17): After graduating in May 2017, Alex moved to Washington, D.C. and joined Deloitte to work as a consultant serving government and public sector clients. In late 2018, he became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Virginia and began volunteering as Board Member and Treasurer of the Humane Society of Loudoun County. Last November, Alex married Amanda Beere (BBA ‘19) at Luttrellstown Castle in Dublin, Ireland. In their free time, Alex and Amanda enjoy playing with their two adopted cats and reading.
Valeria Rivera (’17): Graduated from Baylor with a B.A. in Medical Humanities and a minor in Religion. Throughout her time in the BIC, Valeria served as a Peer Mentor and a Rhetoric Peer Instructor. Valeria is currently a 3L at The University of Tulsa College of Law, where she serves as a Staff Editor for the ABA SEER The Year in Review. Additionally, she is a traveling team member of her school’s National Trial Competition (NTC) team. She will be graduating with her Juris Doctor and a Healthcare Law Certificate in May 2021. Valeria plans on working as Legal Counsel for a private hospital after passing her Texas Bar Exam in July. She can be reached at val-rivera@outlook.com.
Austin Allaire (’18) recently completed a Master’s of International Management at Imperial College Business School in London. Austin has recently started as an Associate Consultant with Teneo, a CEO Advisory firm in London with operations around the world. He is excited to continue his adventure across the pond! Feel free to connect with Austin on LinkedIn with any leads or advice for job hunting amidst a financial crisis!
Hannah Byrd (’18) graduated from Baylor with a BA in International Studies and Arabic and Middle East Studies. After graduation, Hannah taught English in Tunis, Tunisia as a Middle East and North Africa Regional (MENAR) Fellow for the 2018-19 academic year. Hannah moved to Washington, D.C. in August 2019 to begin her current position as a Program Associate for the Middle East and North Africa at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). In this role, Hannah works on the Livelihoods Innovation through Food Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Project which supports refugees and host community members build successful food businesses and create sustainable livelihoods in Turkey.
Arianna Gomez Lopez (‘18): After graduating, I moved to Atlanta for my MPH in Global Health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH). One of my most significant accomplishments while at Emory was chartering the university’s Catholic Graduate Student Association—an incredible community of faith that has made Atlanta my home. Currently, I am an ORISE Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where I am serving on the International Task Force for COVID-19’s Emergency Response Capacity Team (ERCT) in the role of Response Capacity Coordinator. Jumping into the humanitarian arena during this time has been an unbelievable learning opportunity (though at times it might feel like drinking from a firehose!). I am grateful for my time in the BIC. The emphasis it places on exploring and living out all of our passions, rather than hyper-focusing on separate academic disciplines, has uniquely prepared me for the multidisciplinary health diplomacy career I’m now pursuing.
Francesqa Kaggwa (‘18): I graduated in December of 2018 from the BIC. I moved to London, England to pursue a Masters in Human Rights and International Relations. I’m currently working on my dissertation and completing my degree in January of 2021. I’ve enjoyed London so much I’ve decided to stay another year and intern with an international law attorney and volunteer for the Amnesty International London office!
Reid A Pinkerton (‘18): Dear BIC family, while 2020 has been a year of crisis for a lot of people, I’ve been fortunate to see many pieces of my post-college life coming together rather harmoniously. I’m living in Fort Worth with my wife, Drue, and our 18 month old daughter, Willa. I’m working for Oncor Electric Delivery as a distribution operations Utility Designer Associate, and I’m leading a project to improve the map of the grid, which puts me on track to become certified as a Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt by spring 2021. At home, I’m blessed that my daughter is very healthy and happy to play in the backyard where I stay busy tending the garden. I’m eternally grateful for my experiences with the BIC (class of 2018) for equipping me with the tools I’ve needed to begin “living the examined life,” thereby discovering a glimpse of Saint Paul’s path to “contentment during both times of scarcity and times of abundance.” — “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:12-14 NLT)
Carolyn Robbins (‘18): After graduating with my BA in sociology and philosophy in 2018, I stayed at Baylor to pursue my MA in communication while working with Dr. Perry and Dr. Walden in the BIC. I spent the first year of my MA taking classes and working as a TA, and in my second year I wrote my thesis and taught a couple of sections of rhetoric in the BIC. Since graduating with my MA in May, I have moved to Maryland to pursue my PhD in communication with a focus on rhetoric and political culture at the University of Maryland. I am continuing to pursue anti-prison activism through academia and hope to have my first journal article published soon.
Heath McCabe (‘19): I am a year into working with Lockheed Martin as a Systems Engineer. I have just begun an online graduate program through Johns Hopkins University where I will be earning a Master’s of Electrical and Computer Engineering Degree. Best wishes to all the new BIC students just beginning their journey in college.
Veronica Meredith (’19) graduated with a BA in English and a minor in Film and Digital Media. Largely thanks to her experience working in Armstrong Browning Library at Baylor, she currently works as a library assistant and content editor for LexisNexis in Colorado Springs, Colorado. On breaks at the library, she works on her novel, Wintry Sea, and listens to way too many audiobooks.
Rachael M. Power (‘19): A Fall ’19 graduate from the BIC, I am following my passion for foreign policy work in Washington D.C. During my first post-grad summer, I traveled to CO and spent time backpacking through the Rockies, spending the beautiful summer months with family and friends. Afterwards, I began an internship with the US Senate, where I observed what Hill operations and mechanics looked like on the ground. Following my position’s conclusion in December, I began the job hunt for positions in the DC metroplex, specifically pursuing foreign policy research positions. Although I did not get the positions I most coveted, I signed on as an Executive Assistant at Convergence Media, where I follow the ins and outs of campaigning and polling. As I look at law-school and the USAF, I am taking one step at a time, wherever the Lord leads.
Gabbi Mucerino (‘20) graduated from Baylor in May 2020 with a BA in Political Science and a minor in History. During her final year at Baylor, Gabbi received the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs fellowship from the U.S. Department of State. This fall she will begin her graduate studies, as a Rangel Fellow, at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. There she will study Gender Analysis in International Affairs and International Security Studies. Gabbi will receive her appointment to the Foreign Service in the Summer of 2022 and begin training as a U.S. Diplomat. She looks forward to traveling the world representing the U.S. Government as well as Baylor University. Gabbi can be reached at gabbi.mucerino@gmail.com.
