• Skip to main content
  • Skip to main navigation
Baylor University
Office of Engaged Learning
  • About
    • Deans' Welcome
    • Meet the OEL Team
    • Honoring Dean Elizabeth Vardaman
    • The Elizabeth Vardaman Faculty Awards
      • Elizabeth Vardaman Award Winners
    • Give
    • News
  • The Provost's Scholars Program
    • Welcome from Provost Brickhouse
    • Provost's Scholars
    • Learning for the World
      • Nominate a Student
    • Baylor Engage Fellows Program
  • Civic Engagement
    • Courses
      • Civic Engagement & the Core Curriculum
      • Propose a CE Course
      • Spring 2023 Courses
      • Transportation in Waco
    • Philanthropy & Public Service Program
      • Grantmaking
      • Spring 2023 Courses
  • Fellowships & Awards
    • Start Here
      • I am a first-year student
      • I am a second-year student
    • Learn about previous winners
      • Alexandra Tyra
      • Alexis Simmons
      • Amanda Sutton
      • Andrew Munoz
      • Anne Walker
      • Arvind Muruganantham
      • Camille Watson
      • Carolyn Carper
      • Catherine Haseman
      • Courtney Haubert
      • Emily Schultz
      • Joelle Kim
      • Jonathan Chew
      • Kaitlyn Vana
      • Kate Rojales
      • Katerina Levinson
      • Maria Torres
      • Mina Dwumfour-Poku
      • Nathan Rowan
      • Olivia Gorrell
      • Preston Iha
      • Saawan Patel
      • Sophia Fulton
      • Tashi Flaig
      • Uchechukwu Oguchi
    • Now that you're considering
      • For International Students
      • Fulbright Awards
      • Gates Cambridge Scholarship
      • Kanders Churchill Scholarship
      • Marshall Scholarship
      • Mitchell Scholarship
      • Rangel, Pickering, and Payne Fellowships
      • Rhodes Scholarship
      • Truman Scholarship
      • Undergraduate Summer Awards
    • Searchable Award Database
  • Global Involvement
    • Global Health Academy
      • Global Health Student Network
    • Study Abroad
  • Internships
    • Shepherd Scholars Poverty Internships
  • Undergraduate Research
    • URSA
      • Research Grants
      • Scholars Week
    • Contact Us
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunities
      • For Faculty Mentors
      • For Students: Getting Started in Research
      • BTRUE Summer Fellows Program
      • 2023 Research Internships
      • Science Research Fellows
      • Opportunities for Publication
      • Certificate of Excellence in Undergraduate Research
    • Business and Education
      • School of Business
      • School of Education
    • Fine Arts, Music, and Theatre
      • Art and Art History
      • Theatre Arts
    • Health Sciences and Nursing
      • Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
      • Nursing
      • Family and Consumer Sciences
    • Humanities and Social Sciences
      • Classics
      • Communication
      • English
      • Film and Digital Media
      • History
      • Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media
      • Medical Humanities
      • Modern Languages and Cultures
      • Political Science
      • Religion
      • Sociology
      • School of Social Work
    • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
      • Anthropology
      • Aviation Science
      • Biology
      • Chemistry and Biochemistry
      • Environmental Science
      • Geoscience
      • Mathematics
      • Physics
      • Psychology and Neuroscience
      • School of Engineering
      • Statistical Science
  • Make a Gift
Baylor BU Office of Engaged Learning Fellowships & Awards Start Here I am a second-year student Commit and Deepen
  • Start Here
    • I am a first-year student
    • I am a second-year student
      • Commit and Deepen
      • Make a Life by What You Give
      • Academics, Academics, Academics
      • Teach
      • Learn from Mentors
      • Opportunities You Might Pursue Now
  • Learn about previous winners
  • Now that you're considering
  • Searchable Award Database

Commit and Deepen

Author and New York Times columnist David Brooks, who has visited us here at Baylor, argues that the people who "radiate a permanent joy" are the people who have given themselves over to lives of deep and loving commitment. To do this—to commit, that is—is to go against the grain. In an age of cynicism, it is easier to maintain a cool detachment. In the social media age, it is easier to critique, or argue, or give the curated appearances of a happy life. In our era of mistrust, it's easier to point out the flaws in institutions or communities than to do the hard, patient, hope-inspired labor of planting trees under whose shade you might not sit.

Don't mistake these observations for a boomer lament: no, we hear this all the time from those students who inspire us, who live the lives that are "worthy of the calling they have received," to borrow St. Paul's phrase. These are the people who make a difference in the world, who find meaning in their work, who tend to achieve at the high levels that matter, who indeed radiate joy.

In explaining how this happens, Brooks suggests that people who learn to make commitments tend to begin with a movement of the heart and soul. "You fall in love with something," he suggests, "a person or a cause or an idea, and if that love is deep enough, you decide to dedicate a significant chunk of your life to it." A commitment, then, is "a promise made from love." It's those things you can't not do. And as we pursue those things in their depth, they change us. Irish poet John O'Donohue contends that God hides in the depth of things, and that seems to be true. When we commit to people and communities and causes—when we really commit to them from our own innermost being—we end up, somehow, as both the transformer and the transformed. Brooks suggests that our commitments give us our identity. They give us purpose. They allow us a higher level of freedom—not freedom from, but freedom to. And they build our moral character; they are "the school of moral formation."

And from that, joy. 

     but when I wake to the heat of morning
     galloping down the highway of my life
     something hopeful rises in me
     rises and runs me out into the road
     and i lob my fierce thigh high
     over the rump of the day and honey
     i ride     i ride

        -Lucile Clifton

Here in your second year at Baylor, it's time for you to commit. There's no more time to be a dilettante. Commit to things in their depth. And from your depth. Risk having it said of you, "she was too earnest." And when you are stirred by the heart and soul, commit—not because it's cool or because you need to virtue-signal or because you think you need "volunteer hours." Those won't do. Commit because it will transform you and because perhaps you'll find that God does hide in the depth of things.

That's a bit of what happened for Alex, who discovered her interest in behavioral medicine research and committed to translating the knowledge she helped discover into real action, for real people who find themselves in a vulnerable state. Rather than simply publishing her results—which she's done prolifically—she committed herself to Waco teens experiencing homelessness, partnering with The Cove to help them find health and thrive.

Once you begin to commit deeply to things that matter, you'll find yourself in a posture of giving. Keep reading to learn more about how and where you might give.

Make a Life by What you Give.

Office of Engaged Learning

Draper 244

One Bear Place #97344
Waco, TX 76798

(254) 710-3231
EngagedLearning@baylor.edu
College of Arts & Sciences
Illuminate
Make a Gift
Baylor BU Office of Engaged Learning Fellowships & Awards Start Here I am a second-year student Commit and Deepen
  • About
    Back
    • Deans' Welcome
    • Meet the OEL Team
    • Honoring Dean Elizabeth Vardaman
    • The Elizabeth Vardaman Faculty Awards
      Back
      • Elizabeth Vardaman Award Winners
    • Give
    • News
  • The Provost's Scholars Program
    Back
    • Welcome from Provost Brickhouse
    • Provost's Scholars
    • Learning for the World
      Back
      • Nominate a Student
    • Baylor Engage Fellows Program
  • Civic Engagement
    Back
    • Courses
      Back
      • Civic Engagement & the Core Curriculum
      • Propose a CE Course
      • Spring 2023 Courses
      • Transportation in Waco
    • Philanthropy & Public Service Program
      Back
      • Grantmaking
      • Spring 2023 Courses
  • Fellowships & Awards
    Back
    • Start Here
      Back
      • I am a first-year student
        Back
        • Overview
        • Enlarge your Imagination
        • Academics, Academics, Academics
        • Learn Beyond the Classroom
        • Find Mentors
        • Opportunities You Might Pursue Now
      • I am a second-year student
        Back
        • Commit and Deepen
        • Make a Life by What You Give
        • Academics, Academics, Academics
        • Teach
        • Learn from Mentors
        • Opportunities You Might Pursue Now
    • Learn about previous winners
      Back
      • Alexandra Tyra
      • Alexis Simmons
      • Amanda Sutton
      • Andrew Munoz
      • Anne Walker
      • Arvind Muruganantham
      • Camille Watson
      • Carolyn Carper
      • Catherine Haseman
      • Courtney Haubert
      • Emily Schultz
      • Joelle Kim
      • Jonathan Chew
      • Kaitlyn Vana
      • Kate Rojales
      • Katerina Levinson
      • Maria Torres
      • Mina Dwumfour-Poku
      • Nathan Rowan
      • Olivia Gorrell
      • Preston Iha
      • Saawan Patel
      • Sophia Fulton
      • Tashi Flaig
      • Uchechukwu Oguchi
    • Now that you're considering
      Back
      • For International Students
      • Fulbright Awards
        Back
        • Next Steps and the Fulbright Application Process at Baylor
      • Gates Cambridge Scholarship
      • Kanders Churchill Scholarship
      • Marshall Scholarship
      • Mitchell Scholarship
      • Rangel, Pickering, and Payne Fellowships
      • Rhodes Scholarship
      • Truman Scholarship
      • Undergraduate Summer Awards
    • Searchable Award Database
  • Global Involvement
    Back
    • Global Health Academy
      Back
      • Global Health Student Network
    • Study Abroad
  • Internships
    Back
    • Shepherd Scholars Poverty Internships
  • Undergraduate Research
    Back
    • URSA
      Back
      • Research Grants
        Back
        • URSA Grant Guidelines
        • URSA Research Grant Application
        • URSA Mini-Research Grant Proposal
        • URSA Grants for Faculty: ALURE Proposals
        • URSA Grant Awards 2022-23
      • Scholars Week
        Back
        • URSA Scholars Week Information
          Back
          • Scholars Week Abstracts
          • How to Prepare for a Poster Presentation
        • 2022 Outstanding Scholars Week Platform Presentations
        • 2022 Outstanding Scholars Week Poster Presentations
    • Contact Us
    • Undergraduate Research Opportunities
      Back
      • For Faculty Mentors
      • For Students: Getting Started in Research
      • BTRUE Summer Fellows Program
      • 2023 Research Internships
      • Science Research Fellows
        Back
        • About Science Research Fellows
        • Application Timeline
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • How to Apply
        • Should I Apply?
      • Opportunities for Publication
      • Certificate of Excellence in Undergraduate Research
    • Business and Education
      Back
      • School of Business
      • School of Education
    • Fine Arts, Music, and Theatre
      Back
      • Art and Art History
      • Theatre Arts
    • Health Sciences and Nursing
      Back
      • Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
      • Nursing
      • Family and Consumer Sciences
    • Humanities and Social Sciences
      Back
      • Classics
      • Communication
      • English
      • Film and Digital Media
      • History
      • Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media
      • Medical Humanities
      • Modern Languages and Cultures
      • Political Science
      • Religion
      • Sociology
      • School of Social Work
    • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
      Back
      • Anthropology
      • Aviation Science
      • Biology
      • Chemistry and Biochemistry
      • Environmental Science
      • Geoscience
      • Mathematics
      • Physics
      • Psychology and Neuroscience
      • School of Engineering
      • Statistical Science
  • Make a Gift
  • General Information
  • Academics & Research
  • Administration
  • Admissions
  • Gateways for ...
  • About Baylor
  • Athletics
  • Ask Baylor
  • Bookstore
  • Calendar
  • Campus Map
  • Directory
  • Give Light
  • Give to Baylor
  • Illuminate
  • News
  • Pro Futuris
  • Search
  • Social Media
  • Baylor Libraries
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
  • George W. Truett Theological Seminary
  • Graduate School
  • Hankamer School of Business
  • Honors College
  • Law School
  • Louise Herrington School of Nursing
  • Research at Baylor University
  • Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering & Computer Science
  • School of Music
  • More Academics
  • Athletics
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Office of General Counsel
  • Office of the President
  • Office of the Provost
  • Operations, Finance & Administration
  • Senior Administration
  • Student Life
  • University Advancement
  • Undergraduate Admissions
  • goBAYLOR
  • Graduate Admissions
  • Baylor Law School Admissions
  • Social Work Graduate Programs
  • George W. Truett Theological Seminary Admissions
  • Online Graduate Professional Education
  • Virtual Tour
  • Visit Campus
  • Alumni & Friends
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Online Graduate Professional Education
  • Parents
  • Prospective Faculty & Staff
  • Prospective Students
  • Students
  • Accessibility
  • Anonymous Reporting
  • Annual Fire Safety and Security Notice
  • Digital Privacy
  • Legal Disclosures
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Report It
  • Title IX
 
Baylor University
Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.
Baylor University • Waco, Texas 76798 • 1-800-229-5678