By Bridget Sjoberg | Staff Writer
If you’ve ever wondered which students have the honor of carrying the large bear balloon at Baylor’s Homecoming parade, that role falls to Freshman Class Council (FCC) and is one of many events the group is involved in.
FCC is a student government group comprised entirely of freshmen and is involved in planning a variety of events on campus and getting freshmen acclimated to life at Baylor and involved in student leadership.
Holland, Mich., sophomore Luke Huber serves as co-director of FCC with Chesterfield, Mo., sophomore Alex Lawrence, and is involved in running meetings and handling event requests for the group. He appreciates the group as a way for freshmen specifically to pursue leadership and involve themselves in Baylor events.
“FCC is a great way for freshmen to get involved and it’s one of the few leadership organizations that’s targeted specifically towards freshmen,” Huber said. “It provides many ways for students to be involved in Baylor traditions in a more in-depth way like marching in the parade or actually helping with Christmas on 5th as opposed to just attending.”
Huber said that group members often end up getting involved in other leadership organizations during or following their time in FCC like Student Senate, Freshman Leadership Organization (FLO) or becoming an FCC leader.
“Although we’re not directly related to student government, we’ve found that many members of FCC are also in Student Senate, as well as some of our leaders,” Huber said. “I think our members receive the opportunity to be involved in a leadership organization right off the bat freshman year. They get really great experience in planning and organizing events as a college student.”
Some of the specific events FCC plans and helps to organize are Gut Pak Run, an eating race that partners with Vitek’s BBQ to raise money for Mission Waco, and their upcoming Christmas Tree Farm at Christmas on 5th, in which various campus organizations sponsor and decorate a Christmas tree, competing to raise money for a choice philanthropy.
One of the most cherished FCC traditions is carrying the large bear balloon in the homecoming parade, a moment for the group to bond with organization members and spread their Baylor spirit.
“I marched in the parade this year, and it’s an absolutely incredible experience,” Huber said. “It’s so fun to be a part of one of Baylor’s largest traditions, especially while carrying the bear balloon. It’s definitely worth waking up at 2:30 a.m. for.”
Flower Mound freshman Chloe Thomas joined FCC in September and said she was excited to be a part of a fun leadership group that works to influence Baylor. The parade proved to be a highlight of her freshman year experience thus far.
“I walked in the parade, and it was an absolute blast,” Thomas said. “It was crazy early though — we had to report for duty at 2:45 a.m. I was a little stressed that I would break the balloon because I was in the front, but as a whole the parade was so much fun.”
Thomas cherishes the opportunities that FCC gives her to get involved in the campus community and said that being a group member has made for an exciting first year at Baylor.
“I’ve really loved being involved in FCC,” Thomas said. “My small group and all of the members and leaders in FCC are great, and the parade has been my absolute favorite part.”
Huber said recruitment is closed currently, but applications reopen every fall for the new freshman class. All campus groups looking to sponsor a Christmas tree for FCC’s Christmas Tree Farm can fill out a form on Connect, and all FCC questions can be answered by contacting Huber at luke_huber1@baylor.edu.
