Winter 2019-2020 Newsletter

A Message from Judy

Winter 2019-2020

As the weeks slip away signaling the end of this calendar year we pause to give thanks for life’s blessings and to celebrate the joys of Christmas. During the holidays wherever you are and whatever your circumstance know that your Baylor Family appreciates you and wishes you abiding peace and comfort.

It is our hope that you will enjoy finding ways to remain connected to the university whether through the retiree program, lifelong learning, the arts, athletics or numerous other ways to engage with the university. For our retirees living afar we hope that you will connect through this newsletter and a myriad of other university publications which arrive in your e-mail and/or mail box to keep abreast of the ever-changing university landscape.

I hope to see you at our February 18 luncheon which will feature a presentation by Professor Bob Darden on his fascinating and important work with the Black Gospel Restoration Project which has garnered both national and international prominence.

With warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with love and joy,

Judy Maggard

At Baylor, Faculty are the Difference

Baylor University's faculty teach with passion and with intentional investment in their students' lives. For many students, our faculty's reputation for transformational education is what draws them to campus.

For Instrumental Studies Senior Craig Adams, of San Antonio, Texas, his journey to Baylor started on an unofficial visit to campus to see his best friend.

"I got to meet (my future professor Mr. Jeffrey Powers), and take a lesson with him and then listen to the wind ensemble perform," he said. "The way that the ensemble interacted with the conductor and the way that they performed was a level of artistry in music I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before. I have never experienced a level of dedication and passion for the music like that."

Craig was hooked.

"At Baylor in my times in the ensemble, it's always about serving the music and that the technique and the facility to perform is very important, but equally important is having the passion and the artistry to make the music jump off the page."

Craig says his time at Baylor "surpassed my expectations." Yet, his college journey almost took him to Austin, rather than Waco. Before his visit, Craig applied and was accepted to Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin, where he had also auditioned and won a seat in the French horn studio. When it came time to choose, his desire to go to Baylor, coupled with stronger scholarship support through the School of Music, helped Craig become a Baylor Bear.

As he prepares to graduate in May, Craig said he is grateful for his Baylor experience, including his time as drum major of the Golden Wave Band. He will spend the spring student teaching in preparation for a career as a middle school and high school band teacher, and Craig says he is grateful for those in the Baylor Family who support scholarships and the Arts, as their support paved the way for his future.

"The opportunities that I have had would not at all be possible without the generous support of donors," Craig said. "Not only having the support through a desire to help students come to Baylor, but a desire specifically from music students to further their talents that God has given them, I think is nothing short of life changing."