Current Conyers Scholars
Elizabeth Bounds is a Michigan native and earned her B.A. in Psychology and Spanish with a French minor from Hope College. During undergrad, Elizabeth competed in both soccer and basketball. Following undergrad she earned her M.Div. with a focus in sport theology/ministry from Baylor’s Truett Seminary. While pursuing her M.Div. she served as the Volunteer Assistant Coach for Baylor Soccer. After earning her M.Div. she worked for Baylor’s Faith & Sports Institute for one year as the High School Retreat Director and Assistant of Online Programming. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in social psychology in Baylor’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, working in Dr. Sarah Schnitker’s Science of Virtues Laboratory. Elizabeth is broadly interested in virtue development and spirituality.
Rachel Dillmann grew up in Denver, Colorado, and attended Undergrad at Colorado Mesa University where she received her bachelor's degree in Statistics. During her time in undergrad, she was on the cheer team and worked as a Resident Assistant for the University. She then became a Baylor student in 2019, where she has so far earned a masters in statistics and is currently a doctoral candidate in the same field. Her research focus is evaluating forecast predictions for discrete variate time series. She has taught STAT 1380 and will be teaching QBA 2302 in Fall 2022. You may see Rachel either outside enjoying nature or at her local church Harris Creek.
Jacob Hatvany is a doctoral candidate in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Baylor University. He works in the Gallagher Lab where biomolecules such as glycans and proteins are studied using mass spectrometry. Jacob is developing a method to use in electrospray ionization hydrogen/deuterium exchange to look at glycoproteins. He attends Crestview Church of Christ and enjoys camping, reading fiction, and exploring the parks of Waco with his wife and dogs. He is from Houston and completed his Bachelor’s in Chemistry at Harding University (2017).
Michael Huerter is from Annville, Pennsylvania. He is a third-year doctoral student at Baylor University, pursuing a PhD in Church Music. He previously completed a Master of Divinity at George W. Truett Theological Seminary and a Master of Music in Church Music at Baylor University. Michael’s research interests include the ways music and religious narratives form individual and community identities and the interaction of religious rituals and digital media. Outside of academics, Michael is involved in leading music at his local church and enjoys running, playing video and board games, hammocking, and reading and writing poetry.
Christina Lambert studied history and literature as an undergraduate at Hillsdale College before earning her MA in English Literature from Baylor University, where she is currently a doctoral student. She has served as a Teacher of Record in the English Department for four years and is currently the Graduate Assistant to the Director of First-Year Writing. She studies the poetry and fiction of literary modernism, and her writing gives attention to questions of embodiment—discussing the ecological imagination, feminism, food studies, and sacramental theology within literature. She has contributed to the online blog, Front Porch Republic, and has academic publications in Christianity & Literature, Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, and a forthcoming article in Modern Fiction Studies. In the words of Jane Austen, she is “an excellent walker” and has an undying love for the writings of Wendell Berry and the corner booth at Pinewood Coffee.
Mark Lueders was born and raised in Glencoe, Minnesota, and is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Environmental Science Department. Prior to joining Baylor in 2020, Mark studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He has maintained his undergraduate research focus of behavioral responses in fish, but now has a greater emphasis on scenarios where human activities have altered the natural flow of rivers. Upon completion of his degree, Mark hopes to enter into academia, teaching at a Christian university where he can provide educational opportunities for the next generation of scientists and work to bridge the gap and correct misconceptions between science and religion.
Ashleigh Maldonado grew up in a military family and claims no particular hometown. She is entering her fourth year in the curriculum and teaching PhD program. She completed her bachelor's in secondary education at Baylor University and received her master's degree in teaching with a reading specialty from the University of Kansas. Her research focuses on student empowerment through curriculum development. More specifically, she is exploring the requests for trigger warnings as a performative call for curricular change. In her free time, Ashleigh likes to spend time with her husband, their daughter, and their two dogs. She also loves going to the movies, reading, and cooking for friends and family.
Ben Phillips, from Waco and still in Waco, is pursuing a Ph. D. of Mechanical Engineering with a research focus in Energy Storage. He acquired a Bachelors of Science in General Engineering with a Humanitarian Engineering concentration from Baylor University. He loves his local expression of the Church at Highland Baptist Church and loves his Creator intimately. For fun, he loves to play disc golf and listen to audiobooks and podcasts. He is the 18th of his extended family to go to Baylor, so he is a Baylor fan through and through!
Ryan Ramsey is a fourth-year PhD student in the Religion Department studying World Christianity and Pentecostalism. Originally from Knoxville, TN, he holds a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School (’19) and a BA from Lee University (’14). His dissertation examines the life of Mexican folk saint Teresa Urrea using the insights of World Christianity and decolonial thought. Through studying World Christianity and working at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, he sees faith and scholarship as integrally connected. In his free time, he enjoys walking with his wife and daughter, roasting coffee, and watching basketball.