Fall 2024 - Major Hargraves remembers his first time on Baylor University's campus as a bittersweet experience.

He was a prospective student and had signed up for a visit.

"Baylor was both the first place I toured and the last place I thought I could ever go," said the junior from Beaumont, Texas.

"Baylor had a beautiful campus, a wonderfully welcoming environment, and a Christian witness like no other school my parents and I visited. The problem was that the price didn't really match my family's pockets. At the time, I didn't want to get my hopes up that I'd be able to attend Baylor since it would've been too devastating a blow if it couldn't happen."

SERVING OTHERS

Fortunately, Major's story took a happy turn when he learned that he had qualified for enough financial aid to make his dream of enrolling at Baylor a reality. Today, as the recipient of both the Gregory W. Mangum Endowed Scholarship in Film and Digital Media and the Laura Beth and Robert A. Hevelka Endowed Scholarship, Major credits the generosity of donors with helping to change his life as well as helping to change the surrounding world.

I simply wouldn't have been able to attend Baylor without scholarships. In addition, I now realize that giving to scholarships is investing in the future of society," Major said, noting that his friends at Baylor are planning to work in fields that range from teaching in public schools and pastoring churches to fighting human trafficking in the fashion industry and creating a nonprofit to provide care for pregnant mothers.

"When I look into the eyes of my friends, I see a community of people who want good for the world," he said. "I understand now why that is worth investing in."

RISKING FAILURE

Major is majoring in religion and minoring in film and digital media and business administration at Baylor. His focus after graduating, he said, will be on making art in media that shows the power of the Christian faith in a way that engages non-believers. A recent summer job working for The Chosen, a television series about the life and ministry of Jesus, reinforced this calling.

"I really want to make a positive impact on the media industry through a lifestyle of following Jesus in that space," he said.

Major said he's aware there will be obstacles to achieving his professional goals. In anticipation of those challenges, he has thrown himself into service in his local church and other ministries and into acquiring skills in such areas as cinematography and lighting to give him a variety of experiences. He has discovered that only by risking failure can he grow into his potential.

"I figure that the more obstacles I can tackle now, the more practice I'll have for what I'll face in the future," he said. "Now is my chance to fail without the penalties of the professional field, and that learning environment is freeing."