By Madison Miller
Reporter
As a passionate Christian who believes he has been called to help the Baylor student body, Houston junior Pearson Brown said he grounds his future as student body president in his beliefs.
A professional sales major, Brown has been involved in student government for three years, starting out as a student senator on the Campus Improvements and Affairs Committee. He then transitioned to Senate Pro Tempore as well as the chair of the Operations and Procedures Committee.
In addition, Brown is also a member of the greek fraternity Kappa Omega Tau.
“I think what my involvement in KOT has really taught me is so much about working with others for a bigger cause,” Brown said. “Whether it’s for float or even sing, it’s really working as a team.”
He is also an active member of Harris Creek Baptist Church. He has been attending the church since his freshman year.
“Harris Creek has helped me see that there is such a bigger plan or picture for all of our lives,” Brown said. “One of the things I’m looking forward to is just working with people,” Brown said.
Student body external vice president elect, Steven Newcomb, said he is looking forward to working with Brown this next school year.
“Pearson is a passionate leader,” Newcomb said. “His positive outlook will inspire people to follow his leadership.”
Brown said humility would be his most impacted quality serving as student body president.
“I’m not on earth for myself,” Brown said. “I’m not at Baylor or in this office for myself, but I have this office really to give back to this incredible university.”
Newcomb said Brown’s heart for serving the student body and his intent to focus on Christ is what made him stand out as a candidate for president.
“Pearson is a great example of a servant leader,” Newcomb said. “He also has a heart for the Lord which will influence and shape the decisions he makes.”
Internal vice president elect, Lindsey Bacque, stated in an email to the Lariat that Brown is what she would describe as a selfless leader.
“He has mentioned to me a few times that during his year as student body president, all of the student body officers need to make sure that everyone within our organization is being pushed,” Bacque wrote. “They need to be in a place where they can be successful as individuals.”
Serving the student body as best he can while keeping in line with Baylor’s foundation principles is something Brown is adamant about, he said.
“It will teach me so much servant-heartedness,” Brown said. “For instance, maybe I don’t want to sit through this meeting right now, but knowing that I’m going to it because it will help make the Baylor experience better for some kid who I will never know.”
Brown joked that he gets nervous when he looks at his Outlook calendar.
“It’s a very big responsibility and it’s something that I don’t want to take lightly,” Brown said. “I think where I can get nervous is the fact that I’m very much a human being and I will make mistakes, but I think it’s being able to recognize when you do make mistakes and being able to own up to them.”
Brown campaigned with a three step platform, ignite, launch and soar, which he said he is looking forward to implementing.
As student body president, Brown said he wants to encourage more students to come to Baylor by working to lower the cost for families and offering a discount for siblings. He wants to promote growth for students.
He wants to further leadership development among students as well. He said he also wants to breakdown diversity barriers and build students up during their time at Baylor.
They have really just pushed me in the right direction,” Brown said. “And they have really challenged me to grow spiritually.”
Another part of Brown’s platform is improving the relations between students and alumni by seeking to incorporate informal career fairs.
Lindsey wrote that her favorite thing about Brown is that he truly leads with a servant heart and he does so only for the glory of God.
“As Pearson falls perfectly in line with the mission of Baylor, ‘Pro-Ecclesia’ in particular,” Bacque wrote. “I am very excited to work with him as student body officers for 2015-2016.”
Brown said if he could tell the student body one thing about himself it would be this:
“I’m not a perfect person, but through Christ’s love and His grace, I have been made whole again and I want to do everything I can to glorify Him and serve this university.”
