A Bright Path Forward

As an exercise physiology major at Baylor, Chelsea Richwine accidentally signed up for the wrong economics course. While it was by chance and without intention, it certainly did not have a minor consequence.

Richwine intended to take economics for non-business majors as an elective but instead signed up for the business-major version.

"I ended up loving it, and the professor said, 'You're actually pretty good at this for an exercise physiology major who took this by accident,'" Richwine said. "He pushed me to explore economics further. I took more classes and ended up switching my major."

She eventually majored in Baylor Business Fellows, economics and mathematics with a minor in Italian en route to earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in May 2014. Her decision to add mathematics as a major was solely based on a desire to eventually pursue a doctoral degree.

The path to Baylor

Richwine developed an interest in economics as a student at Cedar Park High School north of Austin. When she began thinking about college, she heard a lot about Baylor and other colleges from friends.

"People who had things to say about Baylor were just different," she said. "They all had really good personal and academic experiences at Baylor. They loved the Christian atmosphere. I didn't want to go to a big public school. But if I went to a smaller school, I still wanted to get what I was looking for as far as class sizes and the ability to work one on one with people. I was right - I had a great academic experience at Baylor."

Originally from Santa Clarita, Calif., Richwine had no previous ties to Baylor. In fact, neither of her parents attended college. Richwine said attending Baylor was a big deal for her family.>/p>

It also proved to be a big challenge, as she paid her freshman year's tuition on her own via student loans.

"It was really hard to think about the future when the present was still very taxing," she said. "I was at a spot where I could barely stay at Baylor my first year. "

Invaluable help

That changed her sophomore year when she was awarded several scholarships, including the Jack W. Redding Jr. and Juli A. Redding Memorial Scholarship.

"It was someone investing in me," Richwine said. "It was exciting to have people look at me and say, 'We believe in you, and we're willing to invest our money in you.' It went such a long way because it got me by year after year at Baylor to do bigger and better things."

Richwine was quite active both in and out of the classroom at Baylor. Along with her triple-major, she also served as president of Baylor's Italian club, worked as a tutor and instructor in the Paul L. Foster Success Center and was a fitness instructor through Campus Recreation.

Currently, Richwine is pursuing a master's degree in economics at Duke University in Durham, N.C.

"It's part of what brought me all the way here," Richwine said of the Redding Memorial Scholarship. "If one person invests in me, another one will. I'm amazed to be at Duke now, and that's attributable to the people who helped me get here."

Richwine's aim is to complete a PhD in economics at Duke, and she already is taking some doctoral-level courses. She also still takes Italian classes, maintaining her love of the Romantic language - and not by accident.