By Maximilian Diehl | Staff Writer
Though Baylor students may find their partner for life before graduation, for Dr. Will Best and Ally Peters, their fairy tale romance was not to be found in undergrad.
Best attended Concordia University in Irvine, Calif., for his undergraduate education, where he ran for the men’s track team. Best left Irvine with a diploma, but without something else — a fiancée. After graduation, Best found his way to Waco, and arrived at Baylor looking to earn his Ph.D. in statistics. He didn’t know he would find his wife as well.
Ally Peters was a Bear through and through. She earned her undergraduate degree at Baylor, was an active member of the Chi Omega sorority and served at Harris Creek Church. She returned to Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business to earn her MBA and continue her involvement with Harris Creek, working with the children’s ministry every Sunday.
It was at Harris Creek where the couple first met in 2020, according to Best. Peters and Best sat next to each other in a morning briefing, where they discussed their game plan for dealing with 200 kids.
“I just started talking to her and realized she was also in grad school, asked her to ice cream, and honestly just wanted to talk,” Best said. “I had given up on relationships and just wanted my degree and to get out of there. But then, we really just hit it off.”
Peters said that day getting ice cream led to their first date.
“I think we both just lost track of time and didn’t realize how long we had been talking,” Peters said. “And then within a week of the first conversation we went on our first real date.”
Their relationship grew with their love for others, rather than just their love for one another. They got to see the best of each other in the way they cared for their friends, hosting a weekly game night and bringing a bunch of eclectic personalities together in a safe place. Between that and their continued volunteer efforts at the church, they got to see each other at their greatest.
“His faith was just so impressive, his commitment to his life group, his friends and to the church,” Peters said. “It was really cool to meet in ministry, seeing him just care for children and being intentional with the people he interacts with.”
Best’s sentiments echoed Peters’ in almost every way.
“Seeing Ally with kids was just so great, the way she could care deeply,” Best said. “She’s the most selfless person I’ve ever met. She just glows when giving to others.”
At about the year mark, they both became 100% sure that this was it. Will bought a ring, called his friends together and started planning a proposal straight from a romance movie. He proposed, she wholeheartedly agreed and the rest was history.
In what was a perfect ending to their Baylor love story, they pulled together a Waco wedding in June 2022 in celebration of not just their love, but the community that they had built together.
“The wedding was so special not only because we were getting married, but because we had an opportunity to bring everyone into the same place,” Peters said. “We had a chance to have one last gathering of our entire community.”
Best said their wedding was just the beginning in a new chapter of their lives together.
“Every day since the wedding has just been better and better,” Best said. “We’ve just started our lives together. It’s been the greatest.”
