By Juliana Vasquez | Staff Writer

Generation after generation, Baylor students continue to return to the campus their parents called home. For these families, homecoming is more than just a campus tradition; it is a celebration of a legacy.

The Gorham family can trace their Baylor lineage back to the 1800s. Jim Gorham, a fourth-generation Baylor student and member of the Class of 1972, remembers his grandmother, Mama Seymour, who attended Baylor in Independence in the 1880s. For Gorham, there wasn’t a thought of attending a university other than Baylor.

“Honestly, I never thought about going to any other college growing up because my mom was at Baylor,” Gorham said. “My sister went there, my brother went there, so I just had never thought about going to another school.”

The Gorhams bleed green and gold with Jim’s grandmother, mother, three siblings, their spouses and his five grandchildren all having attended Baylor. Following his graduation from Baylor, Jim worked for a local accounting firm before returning to Baylor, where he worked in the comptroller’s office for about 19 years.

His daughter Jenny James, a fifth-generation Baylor student and member of the Class of 1998, grew up on Baylor’s campus. She fondly remembers going to festivals on the riverwalk and trick-or-treating in Collins, the dorm she later resided in.

“It’s kind of a part of your DNA,” James said. “Honestly, I didn’t even know about other universities. It’s just the next step, so I didn’t even apply anywhere else. I didn’t even look anywhere else.”

James had a unique experience on campus with her father’s office in Pat Neff, right next door to her dorm.

“I literally would see my dad every morning going to class,” James said. “I literally could knock on his window and he would hand me money, so we were there together. We even shared a car.”

Jenny’s sons, Caleb and Carter James, are also part of the Baylor legacy, which brings her peace.

“It’s like the easiest thing for me to send my kid to Baylor because I know the education they’re getting,” Jenny said. “I know the experience they’re having.”

Jenny’s niece, Caroline Gorham, a Tulsa, Okla., sophomore and a sixth-generation Baylor Bear, said she feels blessed to be part of her family’s legacy at Baylor. She remembers her Line Camp trip to Independence fondly, marking it as a key reminder of her family’s history with Baylor.

“When we went to Independence, it was really neat because that’s where my great-great-grandma went to school, so it was really almost emotional knowing that so much of my family has relied on Baylor,” Caroline Gorham said.

The Myers family also smiles upon their time at Baylor, with Lois Myers, Class of 1968, remarking that she always knew she would go to Baylor.

“My mother graduated from Baylor in 1935, so I heard Baylor stories all my life, and so I never wanted to go anywhere else but Baylor,” Lois said.

She graduated with her husband Dennis Myers, who transferred to Baylor his junior year, and attributes his Baylor education to finding his calling.

Lois and Dennis both worked at Baylor, Lois in the Institute for Oral History and Dennis at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. They’ve had the privilege of seeing their children and now their three granddaughters attend Baylor.

“It’s a dream,” Lois said. “You start when they’re babies and put them in Baylor clothes, at Christmas have Baylor ornaments on your tree and to have them choose to go to Baylor was fun. I think it’s a wonderful undergraduate experience for them, and I think it will enhance their love of learning that I hope will last a lifetime.”

Walking through campus, Lois and Dennis remember the memories they made in their undergraduate years, in their time as part of Baylor’s faculty and in watching their children and grandchildren grow up on campus.

“The campus, the feel, the smells, the sensibilities of a place resonate with us,” Dennis said. “Even today, when we’re going to campus, it has the power to evoke those kinds of memories which are really good.”

One of their granddaughters, Lauren Myers, grew up in Waco surrounded by Baylor culture. Now a junior, she enjoys the snippets of family history embedded in Baylor’s campus, like the Armstrong Browning Library where her parents got engaged.

“We’re in the same space, we’re all trying to find what the next step in our lives are going to be, but then at the end of the day, I think it’s unique to each of us,” Lauren said. “I think that it’s beautiful as well to see why campus is beautiful with them and be able to share why it’s been impactful for me.”

Brownsville senior Cassandra Delgado said she initially wanted to go anywhere other than Baylor, a sentiment echoed by Lauren Myers. But after touring campus with her dad, she knew Baylor was the school for her.

Her father Arthur Delgado and grandfather Arturo Delgado were both Baylor graduates, with her grandfather also being a part of the Baylor football team.

Cassandra remembers sharing her commitment with her grandpa, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s, and watching him light up at the memory of Baylor.

“When I brought up Pat Neff, and I showed him a picture of me in front of Pat Neff, he remembered the bears,” Cassandra said.”I’m glad I was able to share that with him before he passed.”

Jenny recalled the blessing that growing up in the Baylor tradition was for her and is for her family.

“When you grow up in it, you just don’t know any difference until you get older and realize how special it is to have that kind of legacy and those traditions,” Jenny said. “It’s pretty incredible.”