Inaugural Leadership and Service Event for Students Hopes to Start Big 12 Conference Tradition

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-710-6275
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by Jessie Jilovec, student newswriter

WACO, Texas (Oct. 3, 2018) – Baylor University will team up with students, staff and faculty members from Kansas State University from Thursday, Oct. 4, to Saturday, Oct. 6, to participate in the first Big 12 Leadership and Service Days, an event participants hope turns into a long-lasting tradition.

The goal of the event is for select representatives from each participating school to visit another Big 12 school during the week of a home football game to do joint leadership and/or service projects. Marcia Hornung, M.P.A., and Ashley Anderson, B.S., representatives from Kansas State’s Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows program, had the idea and approached Baylor to be their first partner for the new initiative.

Lamar Bryant, director for student leadership education and development in Baylor’s Academy for Leadership Development, said he was glad to team up Baylor students with Kansas State and local nonprofits to make this inaugural event happen.

“The long-term goal would be to develop an exchange program, where students from Baylor and/or other Big 12 institutions would also visit Manhattan, Kansas, to work with their students to serve the Manhattan community,” Bryant said. “We hope that it will open the door to promoting collaboration, service and camaraderie within the schools of the Big 12 Conference.”

Following a tour of Waco, students will serve at Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry, 1401 N. 34th St., from 10 a.m. to noon and from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4. In between, they will have lunch at Lula Jane's Bakery and take a walking tour of the Baylor campus. Service will be followed by a debrief, dinner and a social gathering.

On Friday, Oct. 5, students will work from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Baylor Community Garden at Ninth Street and James Avenue, then spend time in the Silos District downtown before returning to serve from 3 to 6 p.m. at Doris Miller YMCA, 1020 Elm Ave.

The event will wrap up with a tailgate and Game Day fun before the Baylor-Kansas State football game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at McLane Stadium.

Baylor students who will participate in the project are involved in the University’s Academy for Leadership Development and Office of Community Engagement and Service. Students from K-State are a part of the Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows program, a one-year fellowship for students in their final year as an undergraduate student. The program is rooted in Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder’s “16 Goals for Success.” Through the framework of these goals, Bryant said students participate in a variety of professional and personal development opportunities and service with youth in their community.

“We are so pleased to join our fellow Big 12 institution in Kansas State to serve our Waco community," Bryant said. “We look forward to continuing to participate in this program that brings together all of our Big 12 universities in the name of service and leadership.”

For more information, contact Lamar Bryant at 254-710-4988 or Lamar_Bryant@baylor.edu.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.