When Dr. Mary Lauren Benton learned she’d been named a 2025 KEEN Rising Star, the recognition marked a defining moment for both her career and the growing network of women engineers at Baylor.

In its 173 years of history, Baylor appointed Dr. Linda Livingstone as the first female president of the university in 2017. At the time, Livingstone didn’t want her gender to matter as much as her qualifications. But she found that as a woman, leading the university out of an infamous scandal meant more to her community than she’d realized.

“It’s not just about me,” Mitchell-Wells said. “It’s about my mom, my grandma and my ancestors. Hair holds power. Changing it can shift how people perceive you and it allows for self-expression.”

“It is a very unique show,” Mauldin said. “It’s really beautiful to see how impactful theater can be at its most simple form. No magic, no music. Just actors, emotions and a campfire.”

Applications to work for The Baylor Lariat next semester are open through April 22, so we thought we’d share some of our favorite parts about being on staff.

Baylor’s Women and Gender Studies Program hosted the ninth annual Boundary Breaking Women’s Panel to highlight the lives and stories of women on Monday.

“For so long women have been confined and suffocated and not allowed to celebrate who they are; that fact that we’re able to now is just so amazing,” Almon said.