|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Around the WorldThe Line tells the story of that good old Baylor Line
By Todd Copeland, editor of the Baylor Line magazine
In the weeks after we mail an issue of the Line,
a number of copies come back due to bad addresses. Most of the time,
they bear stamps of "Not Deliverable as Addressed" and "Forwarding
Order Expired" on their back covers.
But every now and then, the explanations are more unusual. The
strangest one that we recently received—and I am quoting it
exactly—read, "Due to unexpected situation occurred in the region of
Kosovo and Metohija trafic is interrupt temporary."
 Given
Kosovo's history, I hope the "unexpected situation" means no more than
impaired postal service due to the republic's recent declaration of
independence.
But beyond the intriguing explanation of its failed delivery, the returned copy of the Line also reminded me of the vast reach of the Baylor family. Quite literally, the sun never sets on Baylor's 140,000 living alumni.
The Baylor Line
magazine, of course, is named after the Baylor Line—the long,
uninterrupted line of Baylor grads that stretches back to the
nineteenth century and wraps around the world, with Baylor alumni
pursuing their calling in almost every country you can imagine.
It makes sense that—along with campus news and profiles of students—the Line
regularly covers the amazing things that members of the Baylor Line do,
wherever they may live. In this issue, we're excited to share with you
several feature stories that celebrate Baylor alumni and the
transformative effect they have on their chosen professions and the
people around them. These are alumni who have traveled the world,
pursuing noble goals and serving others.
We start with recent Baylor grad—and former Baylor Line intern—Claire St. Amant and her experience as a Peace Corps worker in Ukraine ("What Am I Doing Here"). Other features focus on the recipients of the Baylor Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award ("Honoring Achievement") and an alumna who traveled to northern Iraq to teach democracy ("Democracy in Action").
This issue of the Line also includes the last installment of the "Alumni 150"
department, in which we have been profiling Baylor's 150 most
remarkable alumni (ten per issue) since the spring of 2006 as a way of
celebrating the BAA's 150th anniversary in 2009.
In the first issue featuring "Alumni 150," I wrote, "The contributions
these alumni have made toward the betterment of their professions and
communities form the most powerful evidence of Baylor's success in
carrying out its mission to educate men and women for worldwide
leadership and service."
Having written dozens of profiles over the last three years, I believe
more than ever in the truth of that statement. The 150 people we have
profiled represent every calling you can imagine, and they were often
pioneers in their fields. Some were well known to us before we started
researching and writing the series—folks like former Texas governor Ann
Richards and Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson. Others were
wonderful discoveries, like Decimus et Ultimus Barziza, a 1859 Baylor
grad who fought at Gettysburg, made a daring escape as a prisoner of
war, and became a prominent Texas legislator.
To give credit where it is due, I should note that the idea for "Alumni
150" came from former Baylor president Dr. Herbert H. Reynolds. "I
believe that it has the potential to inform, inspire, and introduce a
real feeling of pride and gratitude within our alumni body," he wrote
to me in an e-mail in 2005. "Our folks want to be proud of their alma
mater and to be able to point to the contributions which our graduates
have made and are making throughout the world, principally because of
their Christian commitment."
Sadly, Dr. Reynolds has passed on, and with this issue we conclude
"Alumni 150." But I believe that Dr. Reynolds's hopes for this
department have been fulfilled. And I absolutely know that the tens of
thousands of members of the Baylor Line have been—and continue to be—an
amazing force for good in this world.
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
