Newly Minted Alumni Reflect on Experiences as Getterman Scholars
Each year the Honors College awards a select number of full-tuition scholarships through the Getterman Scholars Program. The highly competitive program attracts some of the country’s best and brightest high school seniors to Baylor University.
With four Getterman Scholars just completing their time at Baylor, the Honors College asked each of them to reflect on their experience.
Katherine Scheffrahn
“My experience at Baylor has completely been shaped by the Honors College. The Baylor Interdisciplinary Core allowed me to broaden my horizons. Through it, I was able to form connections with a cohort of amazing students and professors and to engage meaningfully with new perspectives and other cultures. The Honors Program complemented that by allowing me to dive into research through my honors thesis. Through the support of the Getterman Program, I had the freedom to try new things. I discovered a love for research through the thesis project and experience as an undergraduate research assistant. After graduation, I will be staying at Baylor for graduate school. I will pursue my Ph.D. in Psychology with a concentration in behavioral neuroscience. I hope to provide knowledge regarding mind-body medicine and how patients can best receive positive benefits from such a field.”
Sean Holford
“The wisdom and support of professors who helped guide me has been the most significant preparation for my future that I have received as a Getterman Scholar. For me, the most important part of being a Getterman Scholar was realizing that I didn’t deserve it more than anyone else. Because of that belief, I tried my best to show extreme gratitude every chance I could.
“Academically, the courses offered through the Honors College’s various programs—Great Texts in particular—stand out as containing the most interesting, fun material I covered at Baylor. Even more importantly, the professors who taught these courses have made an indelible mark on my education with their wisdom, insight, wit, and character. I am extremely grateful to all my professors—for the valuable things I learned in their courses, and for humbling me with their inspirational character, compassion, and intelligence.
“After graduating, I plan to work in investment management at John Hancock in Phoenix, AZ. But whatever I may be up to in ten years, I know I will cherish the relationships I forged through the Honors College.”
Anna Coulter
“Being a Getterman Scholar has opened doors for me in ways that I never anticipated. Other than the weight of tuition lifted off my shoulders, many opportunities for professional and personal connection have presented themselves to me just through the Getterman Program. In my job search and law school applications, I have already been served well. The Honors College made education become more than something to attain, but rather a way to live. Since the Honors College focuses so much on vocation and personal formation, I was able to foster my own spiritual growth instead of just my grades.
“After graduation, I will be moving to Washington, D.C. for a gap year, then applying to law school. I am forever grateful that I was given the opportunity to attend Baylor and call myself a Getterman Scholar.”
Micah Stull
“Being a Getterman Scholar has been a springboard for success. I do not mean primarily success in worldly terms, but rather in spiritual terms. My Baylor experience has cultivated in me a heart that yearns for closeness with God. The Getterman Scholars program has been a gift which has fostered the growth of my soul through interactions with professors, discussions with friends, and time in the classroom. The Getterman Program exceeded my expectations, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have received the scholarship and to have been able to attend Baylor these past four years. One of my favorite (and unexpected) opportunities that the scholarship brought was a trip to Colombia my freshman year which initiated in me a deeper passion for Latin American culture and language (so much so that I’d like to live in Latin America in the future). After graduation, I plan to take a gap year in Latin America and then attend medical school and work toward being a family physician.
“The Honors College has been one of the most influential and formative Christian communities I have ever been involved with. It made it possible for me to be involved in leadership and live near some of my best friends. The Honors College has a special way of connecting students whose aim is to love God, love others, and study excellently. Having gone through the whole process at Baylor, I recommend slowing down and learning how to grow a heart that clings to the vine of Jesus amid a busy world. Studies will never stop, and the world surely will not slow down to wait on you do to that. It is up to you to pursue truth and to prioritize finding your ultimate purpose through Jesus Christ.”