Baylor University Secures Teagle Foundation Grant to Launch Summer Program for Underserved Students
Baylor University is excited to launch the Examined Life Scholars (ELS) Program, a two-week summer initiative aimed at empowering underserved high school students in Waco to pursue higher education. Funded by a grant from the Teagle Foundation’s Knowledge for Freedom initiative, the program—led by Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions Kristy Brischke, MS Ed, Honors Program Director Elizabeth Corey, Ph.D., and Associate Professor in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core Samuel Perry, Ph.D.—seeks to close the summer opportunity gap and cultivate critical thinking, communication, and decision-making skills through a liberal arts-focused curriculum.
“I have always felt lucky to have had an education in the liberal arts,” Corey said. “But it troubles me that this experience isn’t more widely available to everyone, or at least to anyone who wants it. The Teagle Knowledge for Freedom program offers an opportunity to share the transformative possibilities of liberal learning with under-resourced students. I hope that a taste of this kind of education will show them how rewarding such study can be in their own lives, and that we can help them move toward college, where they can do even more of it.”
The ELS Program is designed to address educational disparities in the Waco Independent School District (WISD). According to the Texas Education Agency, only 46% of high school students are deemed college or career-ready in the district, compared to 65% statewide. Economic challenges in the district further underscore the need for this initiative, with 34% of families living below the poverty line and 42.5% receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
“With this program, we want to offer students a chance to learn about a liberal arts education,” Perry said. “We also want students to learn what it's like to be college students and see that university life is about building a community. The ELS program is designed to be a holistic experience and will follow our students through the school year with a mentoring program that helps find the best path for each student, according to their interests and goals, to continue their education after high school.”
A pilot version of the program will launch in the summer of 2025 with 15 high school juniors from low-income, first-generation backgrounds in a non-residential, two-week experience on Baylor’s campus. Each participant will be paired with an Honors College student mentor, who will provide guidance throughout the program and into their senior year of high school.
“Once ELS students begin to envision themselves on a college campus, we are committed to helping them make that vision a reality,” Brischke said. “The workshops will guide students through the college search and application process while also preparing them for the transition to university life. Departments across campus have been eager to contribute to this initiative by offering their expertise on a range of topics."
Drawing on Socrates’ assertion that “the unexamined life is not worth living,” the ELS curriculum mirrors seminar-style courses across Baylor’s Honors College. Students will explore classical texts by Plato and Aristotle, paired with contemporary writings from influential thinkers such as C.S. Lewis and Frederick Douglass. Participants will also benefit from practical workshops modeled after Baylor’s New Student Experience courses, focusing on college admissions, financial aid, and building skills for long-term academic success.
“Kristy, Elizabeth, and Sam’s project deserves highest praise,” Honors College Dean Douglas Henry, Ph.D. said. “By introducing local high school students to exemplary liberal arts education, they will open minds and hearts to a precious wisdom and a worthy vision of life that is our common inheritance. Educational excellence can and should be available to all who seek it. We’re eager to open the doors of the Honors College to these very welcome students.”
After the pilot phase, the program aims to expand into a full residential experience by 2026, providing an even more immersive introduction to college life. For more information and future updates, please visit the Honors College website.