Close Menu
The Baylor Lariat
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    Trending
    • Baylor community unites in flash flood relief efforts
    • Baylor rescinds LGBTQIA+ inclusion research grant after backlash
    • Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown
    • Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects
    • Baylor graduate charged after killing cats with pellet gun, hanging bodies over utility lines
    • Baylor Football’s Alex Foster dies at 18
    • Board of Regents confirms budget, renovations, new leadership in May meeting
    • How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings
    • About us
      • Spring 2025 Staff Page
      • Copyright Information
    • Contact
      • Contact Information
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Subscribe to The Morning Buzz
      • Department of Student Media
    • Employment
    • PDF Archives
    • RSS Feeds
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    The Baylor LariatThe Baylor Lariat
    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz
    Sunday, July 13
    • News
      • State and National News
        • State
        • National
      • Politics
        • 2025 Inauguration Page
        • Election Page
      • Homecoming Page
      • Baylor News
      • Waco Updates
      • Campus and Waco Crime
    • Arts & Life
      • Wedding Edition 2025
      • What to Do in Waco
      • Campus Culture
      • Indy and Belle
      • Sing 2025
      • Leisure and Travel
        • Leisure
        • Travel
          • Baylor in Ireland
      • Student Spotlight
      • Local Scene
        • Small Businesses
        • Social Media
      • Arts and Entertainment
        • Art
        • Fashion
        • Food
        • Literature
        • Music
        • Film and Television
    • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Points of View
      • Lariat Letters
    • Sports
      • March Madness 2025
      • Football
      • Basketball
        • Men’s Basketball
        • Women’s Basketball
      • Soccer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
      • Volleyball
      • Equestrian
      • Cross Country and Track & Field
      • Acrobatics & Tumbling
      • Tennis
      • Golf
      • Pro Sports
      • Sports Takes
      • Club Sports
    • Lariat TV News
    • Multimedia
      • Video Features
      • Podcasts
        • Don’t Feed the Bears
      • Slideshows
    • Advertising
    The Baylor Lariat
    Home»News»Baylor News

    ‘I see you’: Engineering professor builds lasting relationships with students

    Olivia ChhlangBy Olivia ChhlangOctober 15, 2024Updated:October 18, 2024 Baylor News No Comments3 Mins Read
    Courtesy of Baylor School of Engineering and Computer Science
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Olivia Chhlang | Reporter

    For every class he teaches, Dr. Elon Terrell brings his Ph.D. cap and gown for his students to try on to remind them that post-graduation looks different for everyone, and that the scope of education is limitless.

    Cedar Park senior Alexis Wineinger referenced this scenario as one of many that have shown Terrell’s impactful character.

    “I first had Dr. Terrell in statics class,” Wineinger said. “From the first day of class, Dr. Terrell has always been welcoming and easy to talk to for all students. I got to know him through this class and also took him for thermodynamics, where I learned so much more from him.”

    After receiving his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University, Terrell went on to teach at Columbia University for about six years. Now, he is a senior lecturer of mechanical engineering at Baylor, where he has taught at Baylor for seven years.

    While Columbia was nice, Terrell said what sets Baylor apart is its students. His Christian faith allows him to build relationships with students to find their “sense of purpose.”

    “Baylor as a culture encourages very healthy relationships between professors and students,” Terrell said.

    Wineinger is one of many students who have experienced this relationship with Terrell.

    “His Christian values are heavily prevalent in not only his teaching style, but also how he treats his students,” Wineinger said. “He never looks down on us, and he is always accepting feedback from his classes to better allocate for the student.”

    An example would be instrumentation and measurements, a class dreaded by engineering students, according to Wineinger. Last year, Terrell felt the need to take this class for himself to understand what his students were learning and be better able to teach them.

    “The students next to me were like, ‘Dr. Terrell, why are you taking this class?’” Terrell said. “I needed to learn this stuff, so I was trying to be as humble as I could.”

    Terrell ended up making an A in the class, even with his personal workload plus the seven assignments a week.

    Terrell also created “Python and Pizza,” an event for students to learn coding because he felt that the department lacked in that area.

    “I went to him after class and asked if he planned on doing it again,” Wineinger said. “He asked what time worked for me and hosted another one. By the next week, he had flyers posted around Rogers and tons of students had already signed up.”

    At the end of the event, Wineinger said Terrell 3D printed the Python logo for students to take home as a certificate of what they had learned.

    Terrell also focuses on underrepresented groups in the department because he said it can be hard for those in engineering to feel that they belong.

    “Something I do for my African American students is invite them to my home every semester, and we’ll cook some food and eat,” Terrell said.

    The most important thing to Terrell is making students feel seen and heard. He said that all it really takes for a student to feel better is to have a professor say, “You know, I see you.”

    “He inspires us to take full advantage of our resources and reach above and beyond for our futures,” Wineinger said. “He guides students into the mindset that we are capable. Through all of these things, he’s taught me priceless life lessons on top of statics and thermodynamics.”

    caring community Christian class coding community course load Engineering pizza professor statics thermodynamics
    Olivia Chhlang

    Keep Reading

    Baylor community unites in flash flood relief efforts

    Baylor rescinds LGBTQIA+ inclusion research grant after backlash

    Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown

    Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects

    Baylor Football’s Alex Foster dies at 18

    Board of Regents confirms budget, renovations, new leadership in May meeting

    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • Baylor community unites in flash flood relief efforts July 9, 2025
    • Baylor rescinds LGBTQIA+ inclusion research grant after backlash July 9, 2025
    About

    The award-winning student newspaper of Baylor University since 1900.

    Articles, photos, and other works by staff of The Baylor Lariat are Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.

    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz

    Get the latest Lariat News by just Clicking Subscribe!

    Follow the Live Coverage
    Tweets by @bulariat

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    • Featured
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Arts and Life
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.