Exchanging Experiences, Expanding Perspectives: Baylor’s Xavier Exchange

As part of Baylor’s initiative to integrate diverse learning environments on campus and create leaders prepared to engage a global community, the Baylor/Xavier University Exchange Program introduces students to new environments that create an awareness of different institutional and cultural perspectives. Located in New Orleans, Xavier University is an HBCU, which the Higher Education Act of 1965 defines as: “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency…”

For Baylor students, the Exchange provides access to African-American history and culture, Xavier University’s Catholic heritage and New Orleans’ diverse personality. Xavier’s unique identity in higher education extends the transformational undergraduate education offered at Baylor by introducing students to compelling scholarship, stimulating cross-cultural exchange and inspiring informed engagement with an expanded community of peers and professors.

“I think the opportunity for our students to experience another university during their undergraduate career is a transformative experience,” said Lori Baker, Baylor vice provost for strategic initiatives, collaboration and leadership development and associate professor of anthropology. “It has also been a great recruiting tool for these exceptional Xavier students because they loved Baylor and are both thinking of doing their graduate degrees here.”

Baylor junior Janita Motake attended Xavier last spring. The health science, pre-med major especially enjoyed her sociology class, African-American Urban Life, which prompted deep conversations and insights about topics that she might not otherwise have had a platform to discuss. The class reflected the larger campus community of people Matoke describes as marvelous, charismatic and defying adversity.

“… I wanted to see what it was like to study and fellowship around people who looked like me and who could relate to me in many ways,” Motake said. “Overall, I met some amazing people, people who helped me, supported me, and cared for me.” She added that Fried Fish Fridays were a treat and tradition that Baylor should consider adopting.

Baylor’s Special Assistant to the Provost Reggie Singletary serves as the Program Research Committee Chair for the Xavier Exchange, helping to maximize awareness and effectiveness of the program. He recruits and shepherds student participants from both institutions, noting that Baylor sends students to Xavier in the spring and hosts Xavier students in the fall to showcase the unique activities each locale has to offer, such as Mardi Gras and Baylor Homecoming.

When Xavier sophomore Wacuka Gitahi attended Baylor last fall, Singletary ensured her smooth transition to and immersion in campus life by coordinating a welcome team representing various Baylor student organizations and connecting exchange students with staff and faculty advisors within their respective fields of study.

“Baylor made it very easy to find help whenever you needed it and that decreased my level of anxiety exponentially,” Gitahi said. “I absolutely loved the people there!”

Gitahi is a finance and history major who participated in the exchange to step out of her familiar HBCU environment to expand her cultural perspective. At Baylor she studied global business, scriptures, accounting and Swahili.

“…as much as I enjoy being around people who look like me, I also understand that America is widely diverse and it is important to try and understand as many different perspectives as possible,” Gitahi said. “I believe that putting yourself outside your comfort zone especially in places where people do not look like you and have not had the similar experiences in life is especially important.”

She appreciated her professors’ dedication and accessibility, the beauty of the Baylor campus, including its memorial lampposts that illuminate veterans’ stories, and participating in a variety of events such as sundown sessions. Like Motake, her positive experience centered upon the goodwill of the campus community.

“Culturally, my biggest takeaway was that you can’t assume you know someone just because of one detail,” Gitahi said. “It’s not until I had an amazing encounter with someone who was on the ‘opposite side’ that I truly learned that lesson. I would have never gotten that chance if I had stayed in my comfort zone.”