New Scholarships Announced at Annual Banquet

March 3, 2025 4:02 PM

Updated March 13, 2025 12:25 PM

The annual scholarship dinner took place Wednesday, Feb. 5 to honor Baylor’s merit-and-need-based named scholars..

tudent speakers pictured above with Head of School Chris Angel '89 are seniors Sasha Smith, Bruin Webster, Johnny Sutter, and Jayla Simpkins. Junior Taryn Harris delivered the invocation.

The annual scholarship dinner took place Wednesday, Feb. 5 to honor Baylor’s merit-and-need-based named scholars, including the Cartter Scholars and over 30 additional honored scholars.

The 300 guests included former faculty and current faculty members, scholarship recipients, parents, donors, and trustees who come together each year to celebrate the opportunity to attend Baylor.

In his keynote, Upper School Head Garrison Conner '05 referenced Paul Woodruff 's book, Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue, and expanded on the meaning of "reverence" as it applies to Baylor broadly and to the scholarship dinner specifically. "On a night like tonight, one of my favorite of the year, it is easy to reverently pause and celebrate this community," he said, "At no point in Baylor’s robust 131-year history, have we relied on the efforts, generosity, intellect, or talents of one person. A night like this is the perfect example – we can collectively sit here and be in awe of the gift that Baylor has been to all of us in this room."

Head of School Chris Angel '89 followed the keynote with an announcement of three new endowed scholarships for qualified students:

Jeff Morgan '78 Scholarship (Frank Harrison '73 and family)
Sheldon B. Soss Scholarship
McKenney Family Scholarship

Additionally, the Chris Wright '03 Scholarship, announced at the 2024 banquet, has reached its goal to fully fund a day student's tuition this fall. The scholarship memorializes Christopher Wright '03, whose life was tragically cut short in September 2023.

Also, a generous donor made a special gift to rename the ARCKS Scholarship to LARCKS to honor Matt Lewis '74 for his service to Baylor. The scholarship also honors Roy Ashley, Lewis Rush, Bill Cushman '59, Joe Key, and Jack Stanford.

Pictured above *(left to right*) are **Zane Brown, Ben Brown '00, Alex Wright, Wells Wright '05, Janet Wright, Greg Wright '64, John Arthur Daniel '89, Keith Davis '00,** and **Chris Angel '89.**

Pictured above *(left to right*) are
**Brook Soss, Jason Soss '97**, and Terri Soss.

Pictured above *(left to right*) are **Rick McKenney, Pam McKenney, Mary Elizabeth Clements McKenney '16,** and Matt McKenney '16.

Three members of Baylor’s championship soccer team who were among the guests honored at the recent scholarship dinner have not only excelled on the field but have also fully embraced the academic rigor of Baylor’s classrooms.

Like many Baylor athletes, juniors Zoe Misenhimer, the school’s first Aiken Scholar; Elizabeth Silva, the Baylor Faculty and Staff Scholar; and Emily Betterton, the Lew Oehmig 1935 Scholar (pictured above with Coach Curtis Blair), balance rigorous training with demanding course loads while also participating in club sports outside of Baylor. “Their dedication to both sports and academics demonstrates a remarkable work ethic and leadership qualities,” said Director of Soccer Curtis Blair.

Silva is enrolled in Baylor’s advanced engineering research course as well as multiple Advanced Placement courses. Later this month she will represent the school in the state Poetry Out Loud contest in Nashville, an accomplishment that she considers to be the most impactful academic experience at Baylor.

“After preparing for the contest through daily practice and the encouragement and insight of my English class, this achievement showed me that hard work pays off and that if you put your mind to something, you can achieve anything,” said Silva. “I am so excited and grateful for the opportunity to represent Baylor at the Poetry Out Loud state competition.”

Betterton points to her AP English Literature course as her most impactful academic experience. “My favorite class is probably AP English Lit with Coach (Heather) Ott,” she said. “The engagement in the classroom has allowed me to flourish as a more insightful thinker.”

Misenhimer, the team’s co-captain, said the sophomore class Ted Talk and this year’s junior Poetry Out Loud contest were both challenging and rewarding. “These presentations challenged me to pick something I was truly passionate about. The projects were very rewarding because I learned important public speaking techniques,” said Misenhimer. “I enjoyed getting to dive into subject matter that we wouldn’t normally go over…they helped me learn to face a challenge head-on and brave the doubt you can have in your mind.”

Named Scholarship Funds

Thanks to the generosity of donors who value a Baylor School education, more than 50 named scholarship funds generate over $6 million each year for Baylor’s robust Tuition Assistance program serving merit- and need-based awards for families and students. Each named scholarship becomes available upon graduation of its previous recipient. Learn more here.

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