THREE ALUMNI WHO PORTRAYED JESUS IN PAST EASTER PAGEANTS JOIN NICHOLAS McDANIEL, WHO REPRESENTED THE SAVIOR IN THIS YEAR’S 84TH ANNUAL EVENT.
Students at this spring’s Big Event spread out over more than a dozen service sites throughout Bell County to volunteer for the day. #LiveonPurpose
SUMMER 2023 | VOLUME 43, NUMBER 3
PRESIDENT
Randy O’Rear, Ed.D. ’88
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Rebecca O'Banion, Ed.D. ’93
EDITOR
Christi Mays
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Jennifer Jones ’08
Lauren Mendias
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Michaela Adcox Dakota Powell
Hannah Van Beusekom Luke Prudhome
Krystina Mika
CONTRIBUTORS
Ashley Smith ’03
Sarah Harborth
Victoria Kuntz
UMHB LIFE IS PUBLISHED THREE TIMES A YEAR BY THE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.
UMHB Box 8431 900 College Street Belton, Texas 76513
1-800-727-UMHB go.umhb.edu/life
Letters and comments can be sent to: umhblife@umhb.edu
Please send any change of personal information to:
Alumni Engagement
UMHB Box 8427
900 College Street Belton, Texas 76513
Or update online: umhb.edu/alumni alumni@umhb.edu
02 | CAMPUS LIFE
Anonymous donor pledges $50 million planned gift, the largest donation on record, to UMHB.
07 | PHILANTHROPY
Donors attend annual giving celebration.
08 | ATHLETICS
Acrobatics and Tumbling member, Angel Pace, refuses to let hearing impairment bring her down.
GOING THE DISTANCE | 10
After excelling in ROTC and nursing school, two cadets have big Army plans after ranking in top 1 percent of their national cohort.
WEIRD RULES | 12
Students of yesteryear had some curious rules guiding their college experience, like "Do not crumble bread into soup."
WALKING WHERE JESUS WALKED | 16 Students experience places of the Bible during study abroad trip to Holy Land.
FAITH OVER FEAR | 20 College of Education associate professor shares how God prepared her to help Estonians during Russia-Ukraine War.
During this year's 84th Easter Pageant, three alumni who played the role of Jesus in the pageant joined this year's Jesus. They are, from left, Seth Brennan `22; senior business major Nicholas McDaniel, who played this year's Jesus; Steve Villalobos `21; and Matt Langford `18.
In February, UMHB announced the largest planned gift to the university to date from donors who wish to remain anonymous. The future estate gift from a Central Texas family will be unrestricted and is currently valued at $50 million.
“The magnitude of this planned gift to UMHB is overwhelming. We are grateful to God for how He continues to bless Mary Hardin-Baylor through friends like this family who love the university and believe so passionately in Christian higher education on our campus,” said Dr. Randy O’Rear, president. “I’ve never met more humble people, and I thank God for their unbelievable generosity. This family wants to ensure that our university’s future is strong, and this transformational gift will unquestionably impact UMHB students for generations to come.”
Dr. Sanfrena Britt ’20 recently began serving as the inaugural director of the Office of Kingdom Diversity
“The Office of Kingdom Diversity is an intentional resource to assist with God’s vision for the rich and diverse student population at UMHB by embracing those who may feel invisible or who may not have found their sense of belonging, yet,” said Britt. “Student success is the goal,
and this success is measured in retention to graduation for all students.”
The Office of Kingdom Diversity is the result of a task force that spent time praying and listening to professional guidance resulting from datainformed assessments on racial diversity.
“We are learning how to do this successfully and collaboratively by seeking to understand the modern student from diverse lenses and helping students find a place to belong,” she said. “This means continuous efforts to reach minority, firstgeneration and underserved populations and measuring success through student data.”
Britt came to UMHB from Texas A&MCentral Texas where she served in a number of roles, including chief diversity officer, director of the University Center for Applied Research and Engagement, and special assistant to the provost and
vice president for academic & student affairs. She is a 2020 graduate from UMHB with a Doctorate in Educational Administration in Higher Education. Britt received the Outstanding Qualitative Research award for her doctoral dissertation titled Socioeconomic Inequality and Disadvantages in Education. She also holds a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from Texas A&M-Central Texas, and a psychology degree from the University of Phoenix. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at UMHB since 2020. Rebeka Retta ‘87 will serve as assistant director. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Christian Studies from UMHB, and a master's in religious studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She has worked as the resident director of Burt Hall for 27 years and College View Apartments for six years. She has also taught classes in the Christian Studies department and was an instrumental member of the task force that explored race relations at UMHB.
UMHB Partners with TCU's School of Medicine
UMHB recently announced a partnership with Texas Christian University’s Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine to allow medical students to earn a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from UMHB
while completing their Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree requirements.
Over the past year, Dr. Ariane Secrest, UMHB’s Public Health program director, and Burnett School of Medicine leadership devised the MD/MPH course integration plan to maximize student learning outcomes and success. Together, both institutions uncovered nine credit hours of overlap. Therefore, the agreement between UMHB and TCU provides an integrated pathway to the MPH for interested medical students without extending their time to the MD degree completion. The prescriptive integration plan is also sensitive to the timing of significant medical school internships and examinations required for successful completion.
“We could not be more excited about partnering with the Burnett School of Medicine to assist in training future physicians who value a preventative, proactive approach
to medicine necessary in a world plagued by chronic disease,” said Secrest. “UMHB’s MPH is a natural complement to the MD, offering a comprehensive view of the social, cultural, environmental and economic issues surrounding healthcare. To better address the negative health impacts associated with chronic disease, healthcare providers equipped with a solid public health foundation will lead to a healthier nation.”
UMHB’s Master of Public Health is a 42-credit hour degree with a health promotion concentration that admitted its first students in the fall of 2022. The Public Health Program (PHP) is a recent addition to the many health profession degrees offered within the university’s Mayborn College of Health Sciences.
To learn more about UMHB’s MPH, visit umhb.edu/graduate/ public-health/home.
This year’s VOCÁRE Emphasis Week, March 2-6, featured exhibits, speakers and musical programs designed to bring awareness to the campus initiative, which helps students explore and find their calling, or purpose in life. As part of the annual event, sophomore nursing major Emma Trojacek of Ennis, shares what it means to live a meaningful life.
Would you like a tour of UMHB? Have you ever wanted to show off campus to your kids or grandkids or take a peek at your old dorm room? Well, we have the perfect opportunity for you. The Alumni Engagement office will offer First Friday tours on the first Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. End the visit with a tour of the museum and some Crunilla.
• June 2nd
• July 7th
Alumni Engagement hosted Charter Celebration on April 22, celebrating the 50-year reunion for the class of 1973, the 60-year reunion for the class of 1963 and the 65-year reunion for the class of 1958. Reunions were also hosted for Historical Phila, Royal Academia and the Campus Boys. More than 150 alumni and friends were welcomed to the celebration. Pictured at right is keynote speaker for the event, Bobby Johnson ’76, who shared stories about the many people who impacted his life at UMHB and taught him how to live on purpose. Pictured at far right is 1973 Class President Bonnie Hearon.
Members of the Class of 1973 were excited to present a check for $44,517 toward a presidential endowed scholarship in honor of their class.
More than 20 members of the Class of 1973 were inducted into the Heritage Club during their 50th class reunion. Fifteen members of the Class of 1963 gathered to celebrate their 60th reunion, and seven members of the Class of 1958 met to share memories of their time on campus 65 years ago.
"It's hard to believe that 50 years have passed since our class graduated from Mary HardinBaylor. But right here on these grounds is where I began to discover God's purposes for my life. I love that the campus now has the theme of ‘Live on Purpose.’ I think that’s amazing and a great thing that many of us have learned to do in this place."
Bonnie Hearon, 1973 Class President
During this year’s reunion, classmates gathered around museum exhibits and yearbooks to relive fond memories of their days at UMHB.
With rapid advances in technology, a lot has changed in the job marketplace in the last couple of years, and UMHB is adding seven new degrees to help meet the demand of the future.
This fall, students can pursue these new degrees:
•Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity
•Bachelor of Science in Bioinformatics
•Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience
•Bachelor of Science in Social Data Analytics
•Bachelor of Science in Information Systems
•Bachelor of Science in Educational Advocacy
•Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Public Life
Providing new and specialized degrees is essential to give students the skills they need to compete in both the physical and digital environment, says Dr. Nancy Bonner, associate provost for strategic initiatives.
“In order to provide our students with a wide range of relevant and in-demand career options, we are continually evaluating and adding to our degree portfolio. said Bonner. “This ensures that our students are prepared to be successful in this ever-changing job market.”
9.23.23
Thank you to the 463 alumni, friends and businesses who came together during Purple Gives Gold Giving Week to donate $125,199 to UMHB students! We are grateful for those who gave and prayed for this annual event, and for the brave faculty, staff and administrators who volunteered to be in the studentsponsored dunk tank to raise money for scholarships. This student event helped raise $4,635. Every dollar supports the lifechanging work that happens at UMHB.
It’s never too late to contribute! Visit umhb.edu/pgg for details.
#purpleGIVESgold
Donors in the President’s Leadership Circle were celebrated with a unique event that included hors d’oeuvres and a preview of UMHB’s Spring Musical, “Into the Woods” March 30. Each year, donors who give at least $1,000 are invited to celebrate together at a special event. To learn more about joining the President’s Leadership Circle, visit go.umhb.edu/giving.
https://www.umhb.edu/alumni/events#1845
Being a collegiate athlete is an impressive accomplishment for any student, but Angel Pace takes it one step further. Angel is a senior on the UMHB Acrobatics and Tumbling team and she is hard of hearing. Without her hearing aids—which she can’t wear when she performs—she has to rely on her lip-reading ability and cues from her teammates to help her through the practices and routines.
“I never dreamed that I would actually have the opportunity to be a collegiate athlete!” she said. Angel first learned about UMHB when former A&T Coach Courtney Pate reached out to her through Instagram and asked her to be a recruit for the inaugural acrobatics and tumbling team at UMHB, which started in 2019.
“I never imagined that I would be given the amazing opportunity, and I did not want to take it for granted,” said Angel, who is majoring in criminal justice. “I fell in love with the campus size, the Christian values and the campus itself.”
Angel specializes in topping, balancing at the top in straddle pyramids, walk-ins and other moves that defy gravity.
“One thing I love most about this sport is the amazing
bond it creates between my teammates and me,” she said. “The level of trust, love and respect that we all have for each other is amazing. Whether I am on the mat or not, cheering for my teammates is one of my joys in life! I also love getting to challenge my mental blocks and fears and eventually work through them. Overall, this sport is very unique and it allows women to show their own strength in crazy ways.”
Angel has been playing sports since she was two years old, and acrobatics and tumbling counts as her seventh sport to play.
Even though she hadn’t participated in acrobatics and tumbling before coming to UMHB, she had been in gymnastics for 12 years and was a four-year varsity gymnast in high school.
“One of the hardest things about being on this team is having to trust others,” she said. “Since I come from a gymnastics background, which is primarily trusting yourself and not someone else to hold you up, that was and still is one of the biggest challenges that I struggle with but it has improved so much since my freshman year!”
Senior criminal justice major Angel Pace, from Saginaw, Texas, was diagnosed with a hearing impairment when she was in kindergarten, but has never let that keep her from competing in sports throughout high school and college.
Josiah Johnson, a senior guard on the UMHB men’s basketball team, and Arieona Rosborough, a sophomore guard on the women’s team, were both named 2023 American Southwest Conference Players of the Year.
Josiah also won the title last season and was the 2021 West Division POY. He ranked second in the ASC in points per game (21.7) and free throws made (172). He made 170 field goals, ranking him 18th in Division III with 565 total points. Josiah also led the conference with 2.8 steals per game. He is the second all-time leading scorer in the ASC with 1,883 points in three seasons. He had double-digit scoring performances in all 26 games this season, with 16 games of
20-plus points and a pair of 30-point performances. Josiah also earned First Team All-ASC, All-Defensive Team, National Association of Basketball Coaches First-Team All-American honors this season, and was a Jostens Trophy top-ten finalist.
Arieona was also named First-Team All-ASC, ASC All-Defensive Team, and D3Hoops.com All-American Team. She ranked second in the conference with 396 points scored, averaging 14.7 points per game. She shot .428 this season from the field with 146 made field goals. She also ranked fourth in the
conference with 58 total steals, adding 19 blocks and 168 rebounds. She had double-digit scoring performances in 23 games this season. Arieona also recorded three double-doubles this year with a season-high 26 points against Sul Ross State.
Men's basketball closed its season in the NCAA Round of 16, falling to Christopher Newport University 72-60.
Women’s basketball closed out its season 19-8 overall and 13-5 in American Southwest Conference action, falling to No. 2 East Texas Baptist University in the ASC semifinals.
After only four years as a program, the UMHB Acrobatics & Tumbling team won this year’s National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association Division III Tournament Championship. Under the leadership of Head Coach Raffaela Scotto and Assistant Coach Kate Puentes, the team also went 10-1 and won 10 of 15 event finals at the NCATA DIII Tournament. After winning an at-large bid, the team went on to compete in Six Element Acro at the NCATA National Championship Event Finals, which includes Division I and II programs. The Cru also ranked 10th in the NCATA Final Top 10 Poll, making it the first Division III program in history to make the final poll.
Getting
nursing school is an impressive accomplishment in and of itself, but doing so as an Army ROTC student adds a whole other level of respect.
Two extraordinary Army ROTC students—Cadets Jami Hayden and Bernadette Rivera—not only received their nursing diplomas this May but were also commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves. Out of a massive cohort of 5,518 cadets studying at universities of all sizes across the nation, Jami ranked No. 43, and Bernadette ranked No. 73 nationally.
“We have an exceptional class of cadets currently enrolled in Army ROTC at UMHB,” said Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Shalchi, departmental chair and professor of military science leadership. “These young leaders are at the top of their class on campus and nationally within the Department of the Army, and we are proud of them and what their future holds in the
next chapter of their military careers.”
Though Jami and Bernadette’s stories are quite different, both found themselves at UMHB with full-ride Department of Army scholarships and as the only two nursing students in the ROTC program commissioning this year.
Jami, who is from Red Oak, Texas, was a junior in high school when she decided she wanted to go into
the military. Even though she applied to the Navy, Air Force and Army, she ultimately chose the Army because of the professional and military education options offered by the U.S. Army and chose UMHB because it was close to home.
She initially thought of becoming a doctor, but her sister-in-law, who is a nurse, persuaded her to look into nursing.
“I want to care for people and be able to help them when they’re sick,” Jami said. “The more I looked into it, I realized that being a nurse is closer to what I feel called to do. It just felt like that was my purpose.”
Bernadette is originally from Chicago but now lives in Copperas Cove. When she entered high school, she thought of going into engineering, but an instructor in her school’s allied health program talked her into trying out one of her classes, and Bernadette fell in love with nursing.
“She kind of opened the medical world up to me, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is cool!’ and I just kept going on that path,” Bernadette said. She got her CNA certification in high school and volunteered at a hospital for three years until she turned 18 and was hired as a CNA. Two years later, she decided to join the Army and later contracted as a reservist, where she has served for the last eight years. A request to transfer to a medical unit so she could pursue a nursing degree brought her to Central Texas, and when she learned that UMHB had an ROTC program as well, she was excited to join.
Now that Jami and Bernadette have received their Bachelor of Nursing degrees, they will soon head to San Antonio for three months of basic officer leadership courses. Then, it’s off to careers in nursing and the military that could take them anywhere in the world.
The “unknown” is one of the exciting aspects of being in the military, they both agreed.
“I guess if someone already has their lives completely planned out, then it feels like you’re closing doors,” Bernadette said.
Jami will serve with the Army for eight years— four in active duty and four in either active duty or the reserves; Bernadette is committed for six more
years in the reserves. She can work as a civilian nurse while she continues to train monthly as an Army Reservist.
When asked to describe the nursing program at UMHB, they both threw out phrases like “ it’s no joke,” “really rigorous” and “extremely tough.”
But they both were also quick to point out that they always had support along the way.
“The faculty here see you as one of them because you’re going into their profession as nurses,” Jami said. “They give you extra support, and you never feel like you‘re out on your own. It’s tough, but they help make it feasible.”
Just as the cadets both experienced camaraderie in the UMHB Army ROTC program, Bernadette said she felt it in her nursing classes as well; she knows it means something special to be able to put that you’re a UMHB nursing graduate on a resume.
“The instructors aren’t here just to pump out nurses,” she said. “They take it very seriously, so when you put UMHB nursing program on your resume, they know people will be saying, ’Oh, we want some more of those nurses.’”
Talk to any college student, and they will tell you most of their days are jam-packed. But talk to an Army ROTC nursing student about their schedule, and you’ll wonder how they do it all.
On their busiest days, Jami and Bernadette go to physical training (PT) from 6 to 7 a.m., to nursing classes from 8 to 11, to ROTC classes from 11 to 12:30, grab a quick bite of lunch, and then back to class until 3 or 4 p.m. On Wednesdays, they also have lab until 6 p.m.
“It’s a long day!” Jami admitted.
On top of her busy school schedule, Bernadette also works outside of school as a caretaker for an elderly woman and still drills with her reserve unit monthly in Dallas and trains for two weeks yearly.
“Now that school is over, I wake up feeling like I should be in a class somewhere,” Bernadette laughs. Both look forward to whatever is on the horizon.
“I keep learning about all the opportunities that I could have in my career, and it is exciting,” Jami said. “We’re standing right at the beginning of this big opening, and we can go anywhere from here.”
When in Louisiana, don’t even think about sending anyone a surprise pizza, or you may face a hefty $500 fine. And, next time you’re in Denver, avoid driving a black car on a Sunday.
Even though many laws like these two, are outdated and no longer enforced, there are still some old, bizarre laws and rules on the books in this country— many of which were put in place more than a century ago when they may (or may not) have made more sense.
During the early years of Mary Hardin-Baylor, the school also had its fair share of weird rules. Some are downright humorous, while others leave many of us scratching our heads in wonderment.
Some of the rules from the early 1900s may seem like common sense now, like “Do not pull flowers” and “Do not throw trash out of windows.” But many rules that guided students during this time came from Elli Moore Townsend, who oversaw the first workstudy program for women in Texas called the Cottage Home System. According to museum records, six of the first 12 girls in the program were orphans, and all came from abject poverty.
“They were deserving girls, but they were very, very poor and had no means to go to college,” said Beth Norvell, associate director of museum and
alumni engagement. She speculates that some of the rules were perhaps drafted specifically for the orphaned girls because they hadn’t been exposed to common formalities of the day. Mrs. Townsend’s Household Directory from the early 1920s laid everything out for them:
• Each girl must bathe at least twice a week in summer and once a week in the winter.
• No candy making except on the first Monday.
• Do not walk on the floor without your shoes from the first of October until the 21st of April.
• You can read but three novels a year, unless required in your school work.
• With the permission of their parents, girls may spend the Christmas holidays at home. One other trip home is allowed those whose round-trip ticket does not exceed $300.
During these early years, the dining hall had some strict rules around proper etiquette (along with many other guidelines) that ladies were expected to follow.
Opposite page, Elli Moore Townsend, top row, second from left, with the Cottage Home graduates from 1909. The Cottage Home system inspired many unique rules as a means of ensuring things ran smoothly.
In the 1920s, President Hardy required written permission from home before a girl could bob her hair.
Students stood behind their chairs while prayers were said, and at each meal, the head of the table appointed a “table critic” whose duty it was to see that proper etiquette was observed:
• Do not crumble bread into the soup.
• Do not chew when passing food.
• Do not sop from the plates.
• Do not use the knife to carry food to the mouth.
• Always talk on pleasant subjects at the table but do not talk or laugh too loudly.
• You are not excused from the supper table until after the bell rings.
Even though Mrs. Townsend was a stickler for the rules, the students appreciated and respected her, even calling her their “Shepherdess.”
“The Cottage Girls definitely had a bond with her, and I think they knew she was giving them an opportunity to get an education they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise,” said Beth.
Perhaps if Mrs. Townsend only cared about enforcing the rules, it may have seemed tyrannous; however,
Thanks to the “Bobby Sock Rebellion” of 1937, hoisery was no longer required attire for class.
Beth points out that she had a nurturing and motherly side to her and provided spiritual guidance to the students as well.
“They viewed those rules as much as an education as the education itself because the rules taught them how to operate within a lifestyle that they had never been accustomed to,” she pointed out.
Mrs. Townsend always wanted her girls to feel at home and reminded them that the dormitories were “home and not a boarding house.” Some of the household rules included these:
• NEVER use a chaffing dish in your room after 9:30 on Saturday evenings and after 8:00 Sunday morning.
• Do not sleep between blankets, but between sheets.
• Never sweep dirt from rooms into halls.
• Never do other people’s laundry.
• Upon the discovery of a fire… slip on kimono and slippers and hasten to assigned exit.
• Never run, whistle, call or laugh loudly in the halls; or call from one floor to another, or from one building to another, or out of the window to those on the ground, except from the first floor.
Keeping the Sabbath also wasn’t optional. The House Chairman (now known as an RA or Resident Assistant) had the uncomfortable job of making sure every student went to church—even if it meant pulling her from hiding places in closets and under the bed.
Students were also expected to know and follow specific correspondence rules about how, when and to whom they could write:
• You must write your home people at least once a month.
• You can correspond with but one young man. Only in some special cases can you write to a young man oftener than once a month.
• All letters must be written with pen and ink.
• Do not open your mail in the Dining Room.
• No letter-writing during Study Hall or Study Hours.
• No mail is to be sent off until it has passed through the girl’s hands who tends to the mail. Except it be sent by Mrs. Townsend.
From the rules and regulations she has come across, Beth says she sees a strong desire to protect not only the college’s reputation as a place where “daughters would be safe” but also to protect the girl’s reputation. “I feel like a lot of their value was wrapped up in how well-behaved they were,” she said. “The letters parents were writing to the college back then were very specific with instructions like ‘don’t let my child ride with boys in the car’ or ‘don’t let my daughter hang out with this person.’”
By today’s standards, the rules from around 100 years ago may now be considered too strict, especially when it came to leaving campus, hanging out with boys and meeting curfew.
“Students will not be permitted to go with boys on the black list.” And “every girl must be in by 10:10 on Saturday night.”
According to the 1928-29 Student Self-Government Association handbook, first-year students could go into Belton with permission two times each week in groups of two, but only on Monday morning or during the afternoons; special permission to go shopping in Temple with a chaperon could be secured from the hostess. Freshmen were also allowed three visits from young men friends three times a month in the college parlors, provided they had direct written permission from a parent or guardian. Permission to “go riding with friends” was granted at the discretion of the hostess, but only if they were “properly chaperoned.”
Upper-class students unquestionably had the most freedom and could “go walking, shopping or visiting any time,” but only if it didn’t interfere with school work and they were back by 10:30 p.m. They also had the special privilege of walking to the post office on Sunday afternoons and playing “popular music in the Senior room at any time except on Sunday.”
For less severe offenses, students who broke the rules could receive demerits or even “call downs,” where names of the misbehaving pupils were read aloud during Chapel services.
“Shame is a great motivator,” Beth said with a chuckle, pointing out that a “call down” back then was probably today’s equivalent of outing a friend via a social media blast.
“It had to be super embarrassing,” she said. “I don’t think it promoted sisterly affection when you have these girls who are not only spying but tattling. I feel like that would have isolated some people, and it gave the students a lot of control. I think at that time, maybe the mindset was a little different. They viewed it in a more protective way.”
For more serious offenses or if trouble with a student intensified, parents received detailed letters
of their daughters' mischief. In a letter dated Nov. 25, 1919, Opal’s parents learned she got caught “riding with some boys in a car,” which was cause for a trial and fines. The letter informed Opal’s parents that she “had to appear in court as a witness against them, and I hope that she has learned a lesson that will stay with her through life.”
And when students were deemed uncontrollable, like Anna Bell in July 1919, they were sent back home. In a letter to her parents, the school apologetically reported that Anna Bell was “defiantly disobeying our rules and regulations.” The writer continued that she was “a bright girl, and I have tried my best to help her overcome the desire to do wrong… I sincerely hope that you can place Anna Bell somewhere where she will have a greater desire to do right than she has here.”
In 1922, the school president, Dr. John Hardy, requested that no more girls “bob their hair without written permission from home.” Today, pink and purple hair seems to be the norm, as well as wearing Crocs with socks. Uniforms were part of the students’ attire in the early years.
“Ladies were required to dress in stark, unadorned clothes to promote unity within the student body,” said Beth. There were even rules about how much jewelry one could wear and an etiquette class on how makeup should be applied.
But perhaps one of the most disliked rules was the one that led to a confrontation in front of Hardy Hall—the notorious “Bobby Sock Rebellion.” Almost a century ago, students were required to wear silk stockings, and socks were prohibited except during physical education classes. Their hosiery constantly snagged on the wooden classroom chairs, which proved to be a costly snafu. After protesting, the administration finally allowed students to wear socks to class the following semester in the fall of 1938 (but they still were required to wear hosiery when going into downtown Belton).
“It’s one of my favorite stories because they were rebellious,” said Beth. “It wasn’t practical anymore, and the girls wanted practicality, and the administration just wasn’t catching up.”
As the decades passed, MHB saw other rules evolve, like in the ‘70s when trousers became fashionable for women. Until then, women were required to wear skirts and dresses, except in physical education class. When the campus went co-ed in 1971, the rules in the student handbook changed again to accommodate more men on campus.
Fast-forward to 2023, and we may find ourselves chuckling or even scoffing at some of these outlandish early edicts. However amusing they may be, there’s one word of advice we may want to think twice about from the 1928-29 Student Self-Government Association handbook: “DON’T FORGET—That the person who finds rules unreasonable is regarded as the one who usually needs restrictions.”
Throughout campus history, students have managed to make their own fun while keeping the household rules necessary for dormitory life.
Junior health sciences major Caroline Rowe stands by the Sea of Galilee during her study abroad trip to Israel, which was an amazing trip she will never forget.
Since ninth grade, Shayden Spradley has cherished the small wooden cross carved from an olive branch that she carries in her Bible bag. Her Bible study leaders surprised her and the other classmates with souvenirs from their tour of Israel. She has treasured the cross all these years, and it has served as a reminder and promise to one day visit the Holy Land herself.
This past December, Shayden fulfilled that longtime dream when she and 16 other UMHB students journeyed through the Promised Land during a two-week study abroad. The trip was one she won’t soon forget—walking where Jesus and His disciples walked, seeing His birthplace, and standing where He preached.
“We were sitting in a synagogue in Capernaum, and it was just cool to realize, ‘Oh! This is really where Jesus was—where Jesus performed the miracles!’” Shayden said of the town where Jesus lived and preached.
Trip highlights included visiting notable places Shayden had read about in her Bible all her life, including the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where Jesus chased away the moneychangers; the Dead Sea; the Garden of Gethsemane; the Mount of Olives, where Jesus prayed the day before He was crucified; the Sea of Galilee; and the Western Wall. The group trekked through many ancient cities, including Bethlehem, Nazareth and Magdala, named after one of Jesus’ famous followers, Mary Magdalene.
Just like attending class in a classroom, the Israel study abroad trip counts for course credit. Students are required to keep a journal of their expeditions and produce a couple of essays when they return home. But largely, the class is the experience in the country— which is something they can’t get from a textbook,
said Dr. Adam Winn, who led this trip along with Dr. Kim Bodenhamer.
“It’s seeing the land. It’s learning the significance of each site. It’s experiencing the culture,” said Winn, associate professor in the College of Christian Studies. “You don’t get that same experience looking at pictures. So now, when my students read about these places in the Bible, they know what it looks like. They know what the weather’s like. They know what it smells like.”
In addition to exploring the ancient world, students also got an insider’s look into what is happening in present-day Israel and how its religious and political structures may impact the future, Winn said.
“Israel has three major world religions that collide; Judaism, Islam and Christianity are all there in really important ways. So, students get to experience that and see that,” he added.
Other highlights included exploring the Temple ruins, where the Messiah entered the city of Jerusalem, and traveling to Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity, which is considered the site of Jesus’ birth (or close to it). The group also journeyed to the Jordan River, and a handful of the students chose to get baptized in the river where Jesus’ baptism was recorded.
“I got baptized when I was seven, and I debated about being baptized again,” Shayden said. “But being an adult now and entering into a completely new phase of life… it was a commitment to myself, and a recommitment to the Lord, that I’m really building my life on Him.”
At Caesarea of Philippi (where Jesus took His disciples to reveal His identity as the Messiah), students
stood at the foot of the massive cliff rock where the city has been built. “It gave them a visual for what Jesus was doing, and where they could imagine hearing Jesus say, ‘On this rock, I will build my church,’ Winn said.
The Israel study abroad trip was one of about a dozen trips that occurred annually before COVID-19. After being canceled for the last few years, this is the first time a UMHB class has returned since 2017. Other trips resumed this year to Costa Rica for nursing students, Mexico and Spain for Spanish classes, Lithuania for business and English literature, Greece and Italy for math, and Scotland for sociology.
The initial sticker price for a student to study abroad in the Holy Land is $5,300, but UMHB provides some funds to help, and thanks to the Gary DeSalvo Endowment for Training Ministry Leaders (created in memory of beloved pastor Gary DeSalvo, who passed away in 2020), the cost for most students is knocked down to about $1,700 per student.
“Gary really loved Israel and had a heart for investing in young people training for ministry,” said Winn. “His friends and family established this scholarship in his memory to help ministry students experience the Holy Land.”
As students glided in a boat along the Sea of Galilee, the boat captain serenaded them in Hebrew and led them in worship songs.
“I was just in tears. I imagined this is exactly what Heaven is like,” Shayden said.
Caroline Rowe, a junior health sciences major, said the boat trip was one of the most memorable experiences ever.
“I remember feeling overwhelmed like I just didn’t deserve to be there,” Caroline recalled. “Yet, here I am because the Lord made this opportunity available to me. I felt very grateful.”
Caroline was one of the only students on the trip who is not majoring in Christian Studies, but because she learned so much during her Old and New Testament classes, she wanted to experience seeing the land where Jesus spent most of his years.
“The stories in my head look different now that I actually know what places—like the Sea of Galilee— look like. I can picture Jesus teaching on the shores because I was standing on the shores,” she said. “It was just very transformative for me.”
Caroline said she was awed every time they visited a place she had learned about in her classes.
“It was amazing to see those places where Jesus was—to see the places that are talked about in the Bible,” she said, like the Western Wall. Even though the wall is considered the most religious place in the world for Jewish people, Caroline said she is thankful she can feel the Lord in her presence anywhere in the world.
"Going to Israel was an amazing experience, but I realized I don’t have to be there to experience the Lord. I can have this closeness back at home,” she said.
Caroline grew up as a Catholic but said she didn’t attend Mass often.
“I was always, quote-unquote, a ‘Christian,’ she said, “but I never quite knew what that relationship looked like to actually pursue the Lord.”
Coming to UMHB to join the acrobatics and tumbling team also spurred her desire to know more and want “more of the faith” she saw in other students on campus. She loved learning about God from her Old and New Testament classes, and that’s when she decided to take the upper-level study abroad class and travel to Israel.
“This trip helped me grow so much in my faith,” she said. “I feel like the Lord was able to meet me where I was and show me things.”
And even though she was one of the only students there not majoring in Christian Studies, she cherishes the friends and relationships made. “It was an opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone and listen to what the Lord was asking of me, and not just shy away because it was uncomfortable.”
She admits she experienced a little bit of culture shock.
“Definitely the way they dress and the Sabbath. It all looks very different than how we practice our faith here in America, in Texas, as a Christian at a Baptist university. It was all very eye-opening,” Caroline said.
Shayden encourages anyone who has the opportunity to go to Israel to do it. It’s worth the time and money— even for those still uncertain about their purpose in life.
“We have no idea what we’re going to be doing in life, but we really feel a calling to just seek the Lord, and being in His place and where He walked was just a reminder that there is so much more to what we’re doing in little Belton, Texas.”
As a Fulbright Specialist, Dr. Brenda Morton, associate professor in the College of Education, spent four and a half weeks in Estonia teaching trauma-informed practices just after the Russia-Ukraine war began. She holds the e-book she coauthored which she uses in her classes.
Just a little over a year ago, Dr. Brenda Morton and her husband, Dave, huddled around their TV, along with the rest of the world, watching tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine. As the unrest grew and the inevitable invasion neared, she answered countless calls from concerned family and friends. “You’re not still going, are you?” they asked incredulously of her impending trip to Estonia, which borders Russia.
“Yes,” she told her loved ones.
“We both just felt like God was telling us to go,” explained Morton, who has worked as an associate professor in the College of Education for the last two years. “The state department wasn’t telling us it was unsafe to go. There was no reason not to go.”
On February 27, the pair headed to the airport just three days after the invasion that killed thousands and instigated a mass exodus of refugees to nearby countries. The missile attacks continued as they waited at their gate to take off. Putting their faith in God, Brenda and Dave left their doubt behind and boarded the plane to Estonia.
When they landed, the American Embassy was there to meet Dr. Morton. They gave her an emergency phone number for Marine Post One at the U.S. Embassy and an emergency evacuation plan to get out of the country fast—just in case. Her faith was still unwavering. There was a reason God put her in Estonia as a Fulbright Specialist at that very moment in time. She just didn’t realize how big of a purpose He had in mind.
Morton changed her clothes at Tallinn Airport and went straight to Tallinn University, where she walked into a classroom full of somber Estonians. A heaviness hung in the air. For more than 50 years, until 1991, Estonia suffered under Soviet occupation, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine conjured memories they’ve tried hard to forget.
“They see themselves in the story of the Ukrainian people because it was also their story—their shared
story,” Morton explained. “So, the fact that I’m in a country dealing with a lot of historical trauma made it a unique time to be there.”
For four and a half weeks, Morton’s job was to provide educational tools and train educators and students to teach others about trauma. It was easy to see the irony in her situation, but Morton looks back now and knows it was no coincidence she was there to teach trauma. Because of funding, the pandemic, and other reasons, her trip to Estonia had been canceled or rescheduled at least three times. Still, every twist and turn in her journey led her to that exact time and place to help traumatized Estonians when they needed it most.
“God had a plan for all of this,” said Morton, who has taught classes online for Tallinn University since 2019. “There was never a time we felt like we were in danger or unsafe. If anything, we felt like God postponed this trip on three separate occasions, and He put us in this country three days after the war began. There’s a reason we’re here.”
Brenda and Dave’s first encounter with Estonia was during a vacation trip to Finland in 2015. On a whim, they decided to take a ferry to visit Estonia for four days and fell in love with the country.
When she walked into that classroom last year, her heart went out to her students as she saw the tension and fear on their faces.
“I had a student that started to cry, which is culturally unheard of,” she said. “Students were asking permission to have their phones out because they wanted to be able to contact relatives if the sirens went off and we needed to take shelter. I even had a student who asked to bring her baby to class the next day because she didn’t want to be more than seven minutes away from her child. You could feel the anxiety and stress in the country was just palpable.”
Morton didn’t just decide on a whim to do trauma training.
“I thought I did, but there’s no way. I see that God prepared me to come to this place at this time to do this particular work.”
God began preparing her more than a decade earlier when Morton was finishing her last year as a high school teacher.
“I had a foster child in one of my English courses. I didn’t know anything about foster care, and the more I got to know these kids and their backstories, I felt like God was asking us to become foster parents.”
She and Dave set out to learn more. They went
through the foster training and filled out all the forms.
“God’s got a sense of humor,” she recalled with a chuckle. “We asked to foster one child, a girl, and we wanted her to be younger than my youngest child. God sent us a sibling group of four!”
What she learned during her experience as a foster parent became the basis for her dissertation on foster care. “No one is talking about trauma when it comes to these foster kids,” she discovered. “I started asking questions, and nobody knew the answers. I realized that these are kids hidden in plain sight.”
Eager to learn more, she enrolled in a postdoc certification program in trauma and started working with the Oregon Department of Human Services doing advocacy around foster care.
Two years before coming to UMHB, Morton worked as a professor at George Fox University in Oregon. She was named a Fulbright Scholar to Estonia and spent seven months at the University of Tartu. While there, a friend at the U.S. Embassy encouraged her to apply to come back again and continue her work as a Fulbright Specialist, which is how she ended up in Estonia last February to teach trauma-informed practices.
But her story didn’t end there.
“It was a blessing to be able to do something to be helpful—a great feeling like I was able to do something to help both the Estonian people and the Ukrainians in a country that was dealing with so much. All of it was just a blessing.”
—Dr. Brenda Morton
After her trip as a Fulbright Scholar to Estonia, the couple began looking to move to Texas, where their oldest daughter had moved. As Morton began exploring opportunities, she was also working on a research project that connected her to Dr. Aida Ramos, who had worked as an associate professor in the College of Humanities and Sciences at UMHB. It was then that Morton learned about UMHB and an open teaching position in the College of Education.
“When I interviewed, I thought, ‘Wow, this is an amazing group of people.’ At the time, I was inter-viewing at several other institutions and didn’t feel the same about them. When I came to the UMHB campus, I walked away feeling like there’s something different here.”
After joining UMHB two years ago, she received a research grant that allowed her to interview 55 foster care students enrolled in a Texas college or university. The research is the basis for another book she is writing about children in the system and their experiences getting into college. She plans to use the book in her trauma class at UMHB as part of the educational advocacy program.
“There are a lot of barriers to them being successful, and all of that is trauma-based,” she said.
Since she began working with Estonians, Morton has helped train more than 300 Estonian teachers on trauma. She also recently began a new project with a friend at the University of Tartu, creating a video series on trauma-informed practices, and will be offering a trauma class at UMHB next fall and spring. Most recently at UMHB, she wrote the curriculum for the first study-abroad trip to Estonia and is preparing to take her first group of students in May 2024.
“I’m super excited! We will use the University of Tartu as our home base, and I’ll take them to see what a community church looks and feels like, which is very different than anything experienced here.”
When Morton reflects on the path God put her on to help Estonians through one of their most difficult times, she feels overwhelmed out of sheer humility.
“It was a blessing to be able to do something to be helpful—a great feeling like I was able to do something to help both the Estonian people and the Ukrainians in a country that was dealing with so much. All of it was just a blessing.”
When she’s not training horses or giving lessons at her training facility in Belton, Megan Kenney ’14 loves competing with her blackAndalusian stallion, Dante.
Growing up, Megan Kenney ‘14 did not have a very safe childhood. “There was a lot of abuse. I know I probably wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for horses in my life.”
Because of her deep love for the creatures that provided her comfort and love as a child, she has always wanted to advocate for them. She also has a heart for healing people like herself who have suffered trauma and abuse.
“So what better thing in this world than to combine the two? For me, it just made sense,” said Megan, who officially opened Aisling Ranch in South Belton in 2015, where she raises and trains horses and their riders from all over the country. But this isn’t just any horse-training ranch. Megan, who earned her master’s degree in counseling in 2014, weaves together the clinical skills she learned as a graduate student at UMHB with a lifetime of equestrian experience to bring out the best in both horse and rider.
“The skill set I learned at UMHB as a clinician magnified and heightened the fundamental work I do with the horses and the people. It allowed me to tap into that empowerment potential,” she explained.
Her approach is holistic— helping the horse be a better horse, helping the human be a better
version of themselves, and teaching both to help each other as a team.
To do this, she trains the horses to be flexible in mind and body with the ability to emotionally regulate their limbic systems and avoid a “flight or fight” reaction when their humans make mistakes, which, she explained, are often the reason horses buck off riders, bolt, bite or kick. In turn, she teaches the riders the signs to recognize when they aren’t communicating well with their horses. These queues make it less likely for the rider to get thrown off or hurt.
“The partnership is more than just a mutual respect. It’s a partnership of empowerment. It’s a partnership that can allow healing and joy and finding ways to be content in life, even when things aren’t OK,” she said.
Through the years, she has helped many horses, often serving as a laststop resort for horse owners.
“I’ve dealt with some incredibly dangerous horses, and the turnaround is amazing,” she said.
She’s also seen people find healing through the horses—some have had traumatic experiences with horses and are terrified of getting back in the saddle, while others have emotional damage from their past, just like Megan.
“I never underestimate how influential and impactful a horse can have over somebody being able to heal that part of themselves,” she said.
Megan has been around horses her entire life. At 16, she began training them and dreamed of one day owning her own business working with them.
“But I was petrified about making this a business,” she said.
Instead, she decided to become a licensed professional counselor to concentrate on helping people.
After finishing her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Norwich University in Vermont in 2005, she met Andrew in 2006. They married, and in 2009 had their first child, Daelyn, who was born with special needs. Navigating and advocating for her daughter’s special needs helped magnify Megan’s love for helping others and intensified her desire to work in a “helping profession.”
While living in Arizona, where Andrew was stationed with the U.S. Army, Megan started taking classes to get her master’s degree in counseling. About halfway through the program, though, her husband got orders to Fort Hood.
“I remember feeling like the rug was taken out from under me,” she said, explaining that many of the credits she’d gotten didn’t transfer to UMHB, where she decided to finish her degree. Looking back now, she sees it as a blessing in disguise.
“Going through the (counseling) program at UMHB, which is accredited, was a game-changer,” she said. “Having a wonderful Christian learning environment
continued on page 28
Emma J. Black '47
Nov. 7, 2022
Dorothy R. Minten '49
Oct. 31, 2022
Patricia A. Dillon '50
Nov. 12, 2022
Peggy Yancy EX '50
Dec. 28, 2022
Eleanor J. Dugger '51
Jan. 20, 2023
Walter W. McKee EX '52
Nov. 17, 2022
Mary A. Cradoct '52
Oct. 27, 2022
Terry L. Ferry '52
Jan. 8, 2023
Barbara Sewell '54
Nov. 4, 2022
Minnie Harris '56
Oct. 14, 2022
Lore Hickerson '56
Nov. 7, 2022
Susan Brauchle '64
Nov. 25, 2022
Lou E. Truesdale '67
Dec. 31, 2022
Judy K. Young '69
Oct. 8, 2022
Donna Vymola '69
Dec. 7, 2022
Alice A. Schaefer '70
Jan. 20, 2023
Tommy E. Whitley '73
Nov. 17, 2022
Barron L. Sutton '77
Dec. 30, 2022
Carolyn Reed '77
Jan. 20, 2023
Barry L. Wilson '78
Jan. 10, 2023
Emmadell Vernon '80
Oct. 16, 2022
James D. Watson '81
Nov. 2, 2022
Wanda G. Johnson '88
Dec. 23, 2022
Sandra Y. Mathis '90
Dec. 15, 2022
Mickey J. French '90
Jan. 9, 2023
Theda Mae Timaeus
Maxfield, HA '97
Jan. 6, 2023
Dana M. Corbett-Riffle '01, '04
Dec. 15, 2022
Barbara Z. Dixon
Oct. 17, 2022
Kerry P. Owens
Nov. 27, 2022
UMHB profoundly mourns the loss of our alumni, faculty, staff, students and retirees. We express our deepest sympathy to their family and friends, and honor each of them here.
October 7, 2022 - February 10, 2023
Lillie Albright
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Jane Allison
Bill and Sue Allison May
Constance Bandor
Jerry Caldwell
Rebecca Espinal Blizzard
Sarah Jane Sanders Menefee
Frank Boggs
Kenneth Westerman
Jack Bounds
Dr. Dillard and Karolyn Norwine Whitis
Bobby Bridges
Russell Bridges
Golda Brock
Bill and Janis Holmes
D’Anne Burns
Ke ith and Cora Lea Burns
Glenda Barton Bush
Dr. Bill and Kathryn Fagan Long
Mary Glasscock Chamlee
Missy Morris Pursley
Marie Gardner Clark
John and Marna Clark Appleman
Mayra Socorro Cumba
Maria Cumba Wichgers
Ruth Moore Dannelley
Leta Dannelley
Dr. Tom Dannelley
Leta Dannelley
Patsy Davis
A my Bawcom
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Dr. Dillard and Karolyn Norwine Whitis
Bobbie Dixon
Robert and Edie Cornett King
Dr. Bill and Kathryn Fagan Long
Bill Dorman
Thomas Clifton
William Harris
Patricia Malott
Tom and Shirley Miller
V ickie Mitchell
Dr. and Mrs. Randy O’Rear
Jim Fitzhenry
A my Bawcom
Anthony George
K athy Owens
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Rita Green
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Virginia Townsend Guess
Drs. David and Rebecca Sherrod Guess
Jo Ella Hairston
Jerry Caldwell
Jane Hallaway Hickerson
Peggy Bass Albin
Mark and Betty O’Hair Anderson
Dr. Bill and Kathryn Fagan Long
Dr. Rebecca O’Banion
Dr. and Mrs. Randy O’Rear
Don and Judy Owens
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Dr. and Mrs. Steve Theodore
Gloria Ann Hicks
Ray Hicks
Betty Bass Hiles
Kenneth Martin
Dorothy “DJ” Reinhard Hogwood
Thomas and Betty Reinhard Hamilton
Betty Holloway
Tom and Sha Cowan
Dr. Leonard Holloway
Tom and Sha Cowan
Edwin and Helen Dreibelbis Holt
David and Nancy Holt
Les Houser
K athy Owens
Kent Owens
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Carol Jones
Judge Jack Jones, Jr.
Dr. Grace Labaj
Dr. Bill and Kathryn Fagan Long
Dr. Rachael LaRoe
Leta Dannelley
Glen Latimer
Michael and Josephine Brewer McAfee
Katherine Blair Lawler
William Lawler
Dr. Amy LeVesconte
Chung and Ruby Yung Lam
Dr. Yvonne Shen Li and James Li
A lexander Kip Li
Doris Love
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Eve Lowery
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Ruth Malone
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Edith Martin
K athy Owens
Kent Owens
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Oscar Martinez
K athy Owens
Kent Owens
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Theda Maxfield
Jerry Caldwell
Robert and Edith Cornett King
Dr. Bill and Kathryn Fagan Long
didn’t just teach me how to just survive; I learned to thrive. That kind of growth developed me into the person I am today.”
While getting the 3,000 clinic hours she needed to finish her training, Megan gained a variety of experience, from working in a women’s maximumsecurity penitentiary to setting up counseling services at a free clinic to creating a free playtherapy service for underprivileged families. But soon after she finished the hours, Megan felt God pulling her in a different direction—to do the very thing that petrified her in high school—creating a business with her horses.
Everyone told her she was a “little crazy” not going into private practice, but she felt proud to be strong enough to let God lead her into what she was meant to do.
“This is what God called me to do. And if anything, this is the biggest blessing!”
Going through grad school not only provided the skills and confidence Megan needed to start her horse-training business, it also led her to God.
“There was a lot of spiritual and emotional growth that happened for me,” she said.
Even though she had grown up in a Catholic home, she had fallen away from God because of the abuse.
“At one point in my life, I would have told people I was agnostic… I was petrified to believe in God because of where I came from.”
Before making the financial and time commitment to finish her degree at UMHB, Megan made an internal contract with herself—to heal.
“I had to just lay it all out and be honest with who I am, and how I became who I am.”
With the help of all her professors, Megan excelled in school and ended up graduating with a 4.0. But more importantly, she found her way back to God and
accepted Jesus as her Savior.
“All the professors provided a safe place to ask questions about God and Christianity,” she said. “If I hadn’t gone to UMHB, I don’t know where I’d be now, but I definitely know it wouldn’t be this.”
Megan says she believes God gives people, who don’t work specifically in ministry, special gifts and talents to share God’s love with others.
“I feel like that’s what I get to do here at my ranch,” she said. “My ministry is how I live every day and model that to other people. There’s no way I could do that without UMHB.”
Megan looks back at the roundabout way she came into her profession and now sees that every step was interconnected and purposeful in preparing her to help horses and people.
“I get to look back at it with gratitude and as a blessing. I am doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do and what I’m good at,” she said. “It’s my calling. I’m so at peace with it.”
'Horses saved my life' continued from page 25
Dr. Sandra Kay Oliver
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Dr. Linda Hood Pehl
Charles Nieman and Carol Traylor
Drs. Bob and Grace Richardson Whitis
Don McCauley
Joe and Carol Birdwell
L.D. “Bud” Milliorn
Bill and Sue Allison May
Dorothy Minten
Jon and Karen Akkerman
Jerry Barker
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Albert and Carol Carpenter
Alice Clardy
Leta Dannelley
Thomas Dannelley, Jr.
Billy and Lou Ann Davis
Harry and Mary Fager
Helen Himes
Jesse Howell
John and Lucille Kruse
Mary Alice Landrum
Tom and Kari Lipscomb
Walt and Pam Manly
Richard and Grace Dannelley
McDonald
Albert Minten
Esther Minten
Janie Minten
Rhonda Minten
Larry and Mari Molina
Dawn Nation
Julia Woodyard Nation
Sharon Oatman
Dr. Rebecca O’Banion
Dr. and Mrs. Randy O’Rear
Diane Patrick
Penny Pillack
Chuck and Jennifer Ramm
Luke and Christy Robertson
The Saenz Family
Lynnette Schaff
Bruce and Phyllis Seidel
Dr. and Mrs. Steve Theodore
Ellen Wanek
Randy and Kim Kittredge Yandell
Natha McMinn Mitchell
Wayne Mitchell
Valerie Smith
Natalie Trampe
Caleb Benjamin Morgan
Stephen and Suzy Graham
Diane Lovell
Hazel Kelly Moses
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Katherine Myers
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Frank O’Banion
Edna O’Banion
Guy and Stephanie O’Banion
Dr. Rebecca O’Banion
Mary Alice Smirl Odom
Eddie and Debbie Odom Cox
Dr. Kerry Paul Owens
Academy Theatre Boosters
Dr. James and Jane Allison
John and Kay Allison
Mark and Betty O’Hair Anderson
Drs. Aaron and Lisa Baggett
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Barnes
The Edward Bartek Family
Amy Bawcom
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Jeff and Lisa May Bennett
Ron and Debbie Brown
Vicki Gorman Burtchell
Murray Butler
Charlie and Charlotte Chadwick
Cherie Chadwick
College of Education
Charlton and Hilton Crocker
The Glenn and LaFon Daniel Family
Wilma Jean Daniel
Leta Dannelley
Kathy Dykes
Mary Charlene Egeland
William Entzminger
FORVIS
Sheryl Goodnight
Bill and Dixie Gotcher
Dr. Philip Hohle
Drs. James and Carol Holcomb
Carol Holcombe
Bob and Kathleen Thompson Holland
Laura Kubin
Scott Lane
Allen and Nadine Lawton
Kent and Marilyn MacDougall
John and Evelyn May
Bill and Sue Allison May
Richard and Grace Dannelley McDonald
Tami McDowell
Dr. Rebecca McEntee
Ann Milliorn
Terry Milner
Lt. Col. Waldo and Marietta Montgomery
Avery Moore
Darius Moore
Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Mynatt
Dawn Nation
Julia Woodyard Nation
Dr. Rebecca O’Banion
Dr. and Mrs. Randy O’Rear
Don and Judy Owens
Kent Owens
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Chuck and Jennifer Ramm
Dr. David Thomas and Dr. Michelle
Roueche
Daniel and Lisa Schmidt
The Senate Council
Shirley Cowan Sommer
Charles and Sara Bowdoin Stout
Oneta Taylor
Christa Thacker
Dr. and Mrs. Steve Theodore
Bert Tomlin
Carol Treible
Cooper Voigtel
Debbie James Wade
Margey Stohler Watson
Mason and Janie Tate Wheeler
Drs. Bob and Grace Richardson Whitis
Dr. Dillard and Karolyn Norwine Whitis
Betty Whitlock
Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Woodward
Randy and Kim Kittredge Yandell
continued on page 32
When Babak Aghayev meets someone for the first time and tells them he is from Azerbaijan, he almost always gets a quizzical look, and they either pretend to have heard of his home country or fess up and ask “where’s that?”
A tiny country about the size of Maine, Azerbaijan is on the border of Eastern Europe and Western
Asia, surrounded by Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey and Iran. The next question he often gets is “how in the world did you end up at UMHB?”
The majority of the people in his country are Muslim, but Babak, a Christian, found his way to UMHB in a way that only God could orchestrate.
It all started with a bus ride a couple years before he graduated high school. Babak saw an older couple and paid for their bus fare.
“It’s just customary to do that for people, especially if they’re guests in the country,” he explained.
He and his family had been hosting a Christian missionary family in their home, and it turned out that the couple from the bus were their friends and came to visit them at Babak’s home. They told Babak, who had been looking at colleges in America, about UMHB and the scholarships available. Because of Babak’s scores on the SAT, he was awarded a Presidential Scholarship, which took care of a lot of his tuition, but he was worried about how to pay for the rest.
Over that year, he met up every week or two with the couple from the bus and they became close friends. They made a few phone calls to a Temple businessman they were friends with and told him about the “boy from Azerbaijan” who wanted to come to UMHB. That businessman wrote out a check to cover the rest of Babak’s expenses through his graduation.
“I would say that I’m blessed,” said Babak, who is now a junior computer science major.
As for what he will do after he graduates, Babak isn’t sure of what that looks like just yet, but says he will do “what God wants me to do.”
Azerbaijan student shares amazing story of how he ended up halfway around the world at UMHBCindy Payne
Dani Beth Crosby
Sidney W. Post
Guy and Stephanie O’Banion
Arthur Prater
Jack Prater
Nan Webb Pryor
Gordon and Julie Holekamp
Dr. Rebecca O’Banion
Larry Putman
Amy Bawcom
Dr. Dillard and Karolyn Norwine Whitis
Carolyn Foster Reed
Michael and Catherine Burkett Cornelio
Rev. DD and Addie Simpson
Elaine Simpson
Andrea Hill Smith-Leach
Vic and Lexie Horton Turley
Evan Smith
Dr. and Mrs. Mark Groveunder
Jo Reinhard Smith
Thomas and Betty Reinhard Hamilton
Gay Southard
James and Lynn Whyburn Clarke
Isabel Tanyag
Kenneth and Elvie Pope
Tom Taylor
Mark and Betty O’Hair Anderson
Dr. Bill and Kathryn Fagan Long
Guy and Stephanie O’Banion
Dr. and Mrs. Steve Theodore
James Tibbetts, Sr.
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Ellen Truesdale
The Texas Water Safari
Dr. William P. Vann
Joy Lierman Vann
Dr. Dillard and Karolyn Norwine Whitis
Jim Watson
Bill and Janis Holmes
Dr. Rebecca O’Banion
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Gordon D. Wiggers
Amy Bawcom
Virginia Williams
Dr. Dillard and Karolyn Norwine Whitis
Olive Fuller Wilson
Laura Lander
W.C. and Lydia Richter Winkler
Gina Winkler Agold Krause
JOIN THE CRU FAMILY
as we meet each Tuesday this summer from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. to go for a walk and explore the UMHB campus and local parks. Bring your water, friends, pets or scooters, and meet some new friends of all ages. We will connect at the Musick Alumni Center and Museum at the Parker House as the starting point for our walks. We hope to see you there!
June 6—Campus
June 13—Nolan Creek
June 20—Campus
June 27—Miller Springs
July 11—Campus
July 18—Nolan Creek
July 25—Campus
August 1—Miller Springs
•June 1- Temple, TX - Summer Moon, 1-3 pm
•June 8- Salado, TX – Muscovy, 10 am – 12 pm
•June 21- Waco, TX - Bitty and Beau’s, 10 am – 12 pm
•July 1- McKinney, TX – Filtered, 10 am – 12 pm
•July 5- Longview, TX – Silver Grizzly, 10 am – 12 pm
•July 17- McAllen, TX – Reserva Coffee Roasters, 4-6 pm
•July 26- Tomball, TX - Honor Society Coffee, 3-4 pm
•August 3- Belton, TX - Sly Fox, 10 am – 12 pm
visit umhb.edu/alumni for additional dates and locations
Charisma Allen
Cynthia Moya
Spencer Allen
Nathan Allen
Toby Allen Nathan Allen
Mark and Betty O’Hair Anderson
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Brad Bankhead
Dr. and Mrs. Todd Kunders
Jerry Barker
Esther Minten
Janie Minten
Betty Sue Craven Beebe
Dr. Dillard and Karolyn Norwine Whitis
Dr. Joan Berry
Dr. and Mrs. Todd Kunders
Lou Beth Birdwell
Julia Alexander
Diane Lovell
Dr. Edna Penny Bridges
Stephen and Madora Bennett
Dr. Wallace Davis
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Molly Kate Elkins
Landon and Andrea Dorman
Depue
Cody Ellis
Sandy Owings
Sherry Fincher
James and Kathleen Petersen Spraggins
Daniel Flanders
Eric and Julie Forbes Flanders
Dr. Cliffa Foster
Bill and Lynn Johnston
Dr. and Mrs. Todd Kunders
Jake Fralicks
Dr. and Mrs. Todd Kunders
Pete Fredenburg
Kathy Owens
Riley and Carolyn Allison Owens
Luke Gaines
Lacie Carpenter Gaines
Tucker Glaske
Rick Martinez
MaryAnn Lyons Griffin
Alan Griffin & Family
Lydia Kreidel & Family
Randy Hendricks
Dr. and Mrs. Todd Kunders
Carlos Hinojosa
Joye Hinojosa
Claude Jacks
Robert and Melanie Hilburn
Darla Kirby
Sheri Springston
Angel Lara
Eduardo and Elizabeth Avila-Lara
Elvira Lara
Eduardo and Elizabeth Avila-Lara
Becca Leija
Cynthia Moya
Mike McCarthy
Dr. and Mrs. Todd Kunders
Drayton and Elizabeth McLane Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Nursing Class of 1973
Jerry Caldwell
Mia May O’Rear
Mark and Betty O’Hair Anderson
Nancy Jean Seiler
Dr. and Mrs. Randy O’Rear
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Jeff Smith
Janice Oldham Torgeson
Marietta Parker
Mark and Betty O’Hair Anderson
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
The Paysse Family
Dr. Kathy Kimmey and Mr. Charlie Kimmey
Jennifer Ramm
Deborah Leathery Redman
IC2 Richard R. Raymond
Merle Lucko Raymond
Penny Renfro
Deborah Leathery Redman
Cindy Breaux Roberts
Mary Lou Robinson
Luke and Christy Robertson
Esther Minten
Janie Minten
Charlotte Rogers
David and Nancy Hagar
Lauren Ivey
Lan Salazar
Cynthia Moya
Pat Lockridge Shannon
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Joel Shoemake
Reverend and Mrs. Ed Spivey
Dr. Brandon Skaggs
Dr. and Mrs. Todd Kunders
Jan Evans Thomas
Darla Kirby
Caroline West
Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Bawcom
Martha Stevens Williams
Mark and Janet Williams
Susie Winkler
Jerry and Martha Shipp Tyroch
Rachel Buck, UMHB’s Spirit Band Majorette, has been twirling since the age of 7.
Even though she was born and raised in Upland, Calif., the freshman art major chose to come to UMHB, where her mom, Karen Buck, graduated in 1992.
“During my high school junior year, I had a competition in Austin and came out a day early with my mom to tour UMHB,” Rachel said. “I was very impressed with the art department and the small Christian atmosphere. I understood why my mom chose to go to UMHB.” Rachel travels all over the country for twirling competitions and plans to compete in four states this summer. One of the competitions she will attend is the College Miss Majorette of America Pageant at the University of Notre Dame. Only the most prestigious twirlers from each state get chosen to represent their state or region at this competition, and the winner will be crowned Miss Majorette of America. She is proud to represent UMHB on the field, as well as at competitions.
“My favorite part of twirling is competing around the country," Rachel said. "Also, the friendship bonds I have made through the years.”
Rachel received seven scholarships from UMHB that are helping her pay for her education, and she is thankful to the donors who have helped her attend her mother’s alma mater. Because Rachel is so grateful, she is just as dedicated to her studies as she is to performing her best when she steps out on the football field to twirl with the band.
“Thank you for supporting me, and other students, at UMHB,” Rachel said.
“Without your prayers and financial commitment to UMHB, it would be very challenging for my family to pay for me to attend UMHB.”
Israel Study Tour: In the Footsteps of Jesus
December 2-14, 2023
JOIN TRAVEL CRU AS WE WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS! Led by Dr. Tim Crawford, dean of the College of Christian Studies, this trip will take you on an experience of a lifetime. We will visit and explore key places in scripture, including Jerusalem and Nazareth Village, and take a private boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. You do not want to miss this opportunity!
For further details about this trip and other upcoming trips, visit umhb.edu/alumni/travel-cru#1845
