Baylor Line Camp: Friendship, Tradition and Belonging

Show Notes

Each summer, Baylor Line Camp welcomes hundreds of incoming students to campus and introduces them to the traditions, friendships and experiences that shape life at Baylor. From small-group connections and campus immersion to the historic Independence experience, Line Camp helps students discover what it means to be part of the Baylor family.

On this Baylor Connections, Baylor Line Camp student leaders Olivia Knapp and Matthew Peterson share how Line Camp helped them feel at home as out-of-state students, why they chose to serve future Baylor Bears and how Baylor's culture of hospitality and belonging comes to life through one of the University's most cherished traditions.

The conversation highlights:

• How Baylor Line Camp serves as students' first immersion into Baylor culture, traditions and community
• The role of student leaders and Line Camp events in helping new students build friendships and find a sense of belonging
• Why Line Camp can be especially meaningful for out-of-state students arriving without prior connections to Baylor
• The Independence experience: Baylor's historic roots, the Columns ceremony and receiving the Baylor Line jersey
• How Baylor's student leaders prepare to welcome and support incoming students through orientation and Line Camp
• The lasting relationships formed through Line Camp that often continue throughout students' Baylor journeys
• Baylor's culture of hospitality and the collaborative effort across campus that makes Line Camp possible
• Why both guests encourage every incoming student to find a way to attend Line Camp

Transcript

Derek Smith:
Baylor Line Camp is in full swing at Baylor University and in our original home in Independence, hundreds of students come here throughout the summer to get their introduction to that good old Baylor Line. It's become a fantastic tradition over the years and we're going to dive deep inside of it with two of its student leaders who are with us here today, Olivia Knapp and Matthew Peterson, two Baylor students who have heeded the call to help introduce their incoming Baylor classmates to the university. And we're going to find out what all takes place in Baylor Line Camp and what makes it so special. Olivia, Matthew, really appreciate you joining us. Thanks for taking the time today. I know it's a pretty busy stretch for both of you.

Olivia Knapp:
Thank you for having us.

Matthew Peterson:
Thank you.

Derek Smith:
Well, it's great to have you here. So let's just start off simple. Baylor Line Camp, you had to describe it in one sentence, Olivia. What is it?

Olivia Knapp:
I would say it is a week full of building new friendships, meeting new people, but also immersing yourself in Baylor's traditions.

Derek Smith:
It's a great description. What about you, Matthew?

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah, Baylor Line Camp is that first opportunity to be really immersed in the Baylor culture and community.

Derek Smith:
Well, that's a great introduction to it for people who aren't familiar with it. So let's go in a little bit further now. Take us a little bit further into what's going place there, Matthew. How would you describe it if someone said, "Hey, what are you doing this summer? Why are you doing this this summer?"

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah, absolutely. I think the biggest thing is that incoming students and transfers can come spend some time on campus. They're living in one of the residence halls and just throughout their time in orientation and Line Camp both, they're being exposed to all sorts of things, Baylor. From, like you said, Independence, to traditions like Sing, eating in the dining halls, all of that stuff. They get to do that all in the span of just a few short days.

Derek Smith:
Is it kind of a Baylor 101 or maybe a Baylor student 101?

Matthew Peterson:
Yes, absolutely. Meeting a lot of different people, students, faculty, staff, incoming classmates, all those things.

Derek Smith:
Olivia, how does it connect students so well to the Baylor experience as they're joining?

Olivia Knapp:
I think it connects them so well to the Baylor experience because they're really getting to experience what life is like on campus. They're getting to experience what it's like to have a roommate, to be living in the residence halls, to be eating in the dining halls, to get to meet faculty because they have moments where faculty will come and speak to them. They get the chance to talk to different departments around campus. And so it really just immerses them to what almost an every day could look like on Baylor.

Derek Smith:
Some people come to Baylor, their families went here, they grew up coming here as children. Other people come here from out of state. In fact, you both came here from out of state. Olivia, you're a rising senior communication sciences and disorders major from Washington, Matthew from Minnesota, a rising junior in computer science. And so let me ask you this. Olivia, I'll start with you. Did you know as you were coming to Baylor, did you know what sic'em was? Did you know what the Immortal Ten or Dr Pepper Hour was?

Olivia Knapp:
No. I knew nothing. I came into Baylor with no one that I knew had come here before. I was one of the only people from my school, one other person from my grade ended up coming to Baylor. But I really fully came in with no idea what Baylor was like and was just ready to just experience something new.

Derek Smith:
Did you come to Line Camp-

Olivia Knapp:
I did come home to Line Camp.

Derek Smith:
... as an incoming student?

Olivia Knapp:
Yes.

Derek Smith:
What about you? You as well? Yes?

Matthew Peterson:
Yes.

Derek Smith:
Was it a similar story for you or did you know much about Baylor coming in?

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah, similar story. I didn't know much until I came to campus, that first tour, but I've loved it ever since.

Derek Smith:
And so when you start your freshman year, that first class, when people say sic'em at that point or whatever, you were a little more in the know in what was going on.

Olivia Knapp:
For sure.

Matthew Peterson:
Yes.

Olivia Knapp:
Well, you both are student leaders and I want to know what goes into that student leaders within Baylor Line Camp. What all plays into that? What do you have to do? Is there a typical day?

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah, there is not a typical day. Olivia and I are both part of the student leadership team with Baylor Line Camp Orientation and a lot of our responsibilities are kind of random, supporting just random needs throughout the day. Leading sessions, hosting sessions, helping, making sure things get to the correct locations, shuttles for people, random programming needs, all that kind of stuff. There's no typical day in our job.

Olivia Knapp:
Yeah. Something that's really cool with being on the student leadership team for Orientation Baylor Line Camp is that we're getting to... We call ourselves the fairies sometimes, because we're getting to put out what's going to be there for the leaders and the campers as they get there to experience it, which is just really sweet of being the behind the scenes and just getting to have everything set for them. So that they don't have to worry about anything when it comes to that, which is really just a joy for all of us to be able to do that behind the scenes.

Derek Smith:
Yeah. Why did you each say yes to this role? How did it come about for you?

Olivia Knapp:
Yeah, I think for me, I loved my Line Camp experience. My Line Camp leader was very monumental to my Line Camp experience and just my first year in general. And so really looked up to her and wanted to continue that. And then once I realized that Orientation Baylor Line Camp is really student leader focused and it's run so much by the students that it really just grew into me finding a love for getting to serve Baylor through this way of welcoming new students. And being able to be that person where I came in very timid and scared and just getting to love and welcome new students who also are coming in that way, but also people who are excited to be here.

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah. For me, I think similar thing. I went to Baylor Line Camp and I just felt so welcomed as an incoming student and so that's why last summer I applied to be a leader last summer so I could do the same as a leader. And now coming back this year as part of the student leadership team, helping the whole mission of Baylor Line Camp and just being able to serve people and welcome them into the Baylor family.

Derek Smith:
This is part of new student programs that does so much [inaudible 00:06:31] orientation, welcome week, so much that takes place here at Baylor. How did they prepare you to be an effective leader in this role?

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah, I think something really unique about new student programs is the way they prepare us and the way that we have our training. Yes, there's a lot of when to be aware and what you need to bring, what you need to do. There's a lot of that sort of thing. There's also a lot of character formation and leadership development, looking into what our values are, looking into how we work with other people. There's a lot of time spent in training on those concepts, which I think is really unique and really awesome.

Derek Smith:
Olivia, you're agreeing with them on all of this. Yeah.

Olivia Knapp:
What I find very special with new student programs is they really invest in their students and they get to know their students deeply in a way where a connection is made that it's almost like we are walking alongside each other throughout this entire summer. And it makes it smooth because we trust and we love each other so deeply. And I think that's what has helped equip, at least I can speak for me, I'm sure Matthew too, of knowing that they trust us and that they have invested in us and continue to invest in us. Really just gives us the confidence to go out there and do what we do.

Derek Smith:
Well, let's talk about what you do. Let's talk about it though from the experience of the campers now, our Line Campers. And for those who haven't been, I think probably what most people know is they see the photos of students going through the columns and Independence getting their Line jersey and that's certainly a cool and important part of this. But let's rewind a little bit because as you and I are talking, as all of us are talking today, you're about to welcome a new group of campers in. What is their week? Olivia, let's start. What is their week going to be like?

Olivia Knapp:
Their week is just going to be filled with so much fun. They immediately move in and get to meet with their small group leaders because they all get placed in a small group with a leader with the small group is around the size of between I'd say maybe 10 to 12 students. So you really get to create relationships deeply within that. And then they just get to venture throughout the week together doing going to sessions, eating meals together, getting to participate in making a sing dance, which is one of our big Baylor traditions that we love to share at Line Camp. And then as well as getting to travel to Independence together.

Derek Smith:
Take us inside, pick one of those, Matthew. Take us a little further in. If we're experiencing that as an incoming student, what's it like?

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah, absolutely. I guess, Independence, that's kind of where I'm serving most this year, and that was my favorite part of Line Camp as both a incoming student and a leader and now on the leadership team. So Independence, they'll travel to Independence and it's an entire afternoon, evening trek for them. Looking to see the original grounds of both the male and female campus of Baylor. Look at to spend time in the Independence Baptist Church and hear from a few wonderful speakers about Baylor's super rich history and just how everything started in Independence and how it got to Waco. A lot of people don't know that, I think. So that's a super cool talk given by Dr. Alan Lefever. But yeah, they'll get to explore both campuses. And then yes, the columns are a very special time for them. They'll have a time of worship in front of the columns and then receive their jerseys and get to walk through the columns as all their leaders welcome them to the Baylor family.

Derek Smith:
How do you make that come alive? Obviously there's elements of you could explain things to students and it's, like I said, a little bit of a Baylor 101, but it's not like a class. So how do you, Olivia, make these experiences come alive for them?

Olivia Knapp:
I think it's one what's really helpful is knowing that we were in their shoes as a camper years ago. And so knowing that we remember their experience, but also we want them to have and write their own experience at Independence and not to be exactly what we experienced. And so it's definitely working and doing every little thing and being close to detail but with intention. When we sort jerseys and put them into bags so that they're with their specific leader by the time we give them to them at the buses and having it. Independence goes down three hours earlier than the campers do so that they can set up every single table and chair for dinner, make sure catering is set. And so just having everything ready by the time that they get there so that they just get to experience it. And we know that love, and time, and intention was put into it knowing that they get to experience this, I'd like to say life-changing experience in Independence.

Derek Smith:
It does look emotional when you see it. Is it like that when you're there?

Olivia Knapp:
It was for me.

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah. I think what's special about it is that it's different for everybody and that's really cool. That's really cool. As a leader to watch my campers last summer, but then as a member of the leadership team this year, watching all the new students and all the leaders, just everyone having their moments, whatever that may be, whatever that is, it's okay, but just everyone having their individual moment as they walk through the columns is really special, whatever that is.

Olivia Knapp:
And it's really sweet too to talk to people once they get back on campus and learn that for a lot of people, Independence really is the moment where they felt that they belonged at Baylor. And I can speak that for me with, that was the moment that I was like, "I'm meant to be here. This is where the Lord wants me." And so it's just really sweet to see that so many Baylor students all the way from 1845 have walked through these columns and been able to experience this specific Independence campus before coming to Waco.

Derek Smith:
You mentioned obviously your experience with Lime Camp, each of you shapes your role as a leader and now everything about it you said is intentional. What's it look like trying to build those connections? Obviously you want them to be friends with the people around them, make some friends, know people when they come here, feel connected to the university. What does that responsibility and opportunity mean to each of you?

Olivia Knapp:
For sure. I think definitely from an Orientation Baylor Line Camp leader point of view and getting to lead a small group, your one goal is to make sure that your campers feel like they belong here at Baylor. That is the biggest thing, whether that's you befriend them and get to walk through life with them for the next four years, or you just get to be that person that they can lean on in times where they need someone. Or just that you're that one person that they can come into Baylor maybe not knowing anyone else but they know you and that goes a long way. But also with us being on the student leadership team, we don't get as many experiences one-on-one with campers, but I think our work that we do is with the intention that these campers feel belong at Baylor.
And so I don't know if you want to speak more on that.

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah, I think absolutely. I think one of the things that really cool is that these incoming students are paired with a leader directly in a small group. Like Olivia said, that leader can be their go-to person throughout the week for any questions or even afterwards. My group chat is still active from time to time. My campers are asking me questions about when's All-University Thanksgiving? How do I get my Sing tickets? Stuff like that. So I think that's a really cool connection that's just built and that I know some groups have maintained over years. I have a friend who was a Line Camp leader and she still gets to dinner with her group every single week during the school year, which is really cool. And there's lots of stories like that. So it's just really awesome.

Derek Smith:
We're talking to you both as student leaders. You mentioned Alan Lefever down in Independence. He's like Baylor's historian in a lot of ways.

Olivia Knapp:
Got to love him.

Derek Smith:
He shares the Baylor story, worship, you've got people singing student, small group leaders. Who all plays a role in this besides maybe anyone else that we haven't mentioned or even just kind of diving into some of those roles a little bit more.

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah. So this year I have the privilege of serving as one of the Independence coordinators along with another member of the student leadership team, Emma. So we go down there, we're the two coordinators for Independence and oftentimes we'll bring extra hands, volunteers, members of our hospitality crew. People don't even know we have a hospitality crew, but they do some really cool behind the scenes work for us all throughout Line Camp in different ways that people will really never notice. So that's really neat. But yeah, we do bring extra hands down there because it takes a while to sometimes set up everything. But many hands make for light work and it's always a good time working with people.

Olivia Knapp:
And it's really cool to see in a Baylor Line Camp broader of just the entire community of Baylor comes in and helps out with Line Camp in general of like we have people, staff members who work in different departments who will come and help orientation check-in, Line Camp check-in, to be a hand and a helpful hand. We have staff members in different departments who get to serve as a camp director for the leaders that one week of camp. And so they're getting to immerse themselves in that way.
Waco Hall helps with Sing most of the time. Chartwells with the dining halls help feeds all of our students. We have local restaurants and vendors who we always try to feed into Line Camp so that these students get a little bit of a taste of Waco and what Waco has to serve. And so it really truly is the Baylor community all in with Line Camp.

Derek Smith:
Let's zoom into a couple of experiences again a little bit. Now you all have done such a great job taking us all through what takes place in Line Camp throughout the week. Let's just have a few little snapshots now. What's a funny or favorite memory from putting people in the, I would say, nerve-wracking position early on of having to come up with a Sing program with a Sing presentation.

Olivia Knapp:
Yeah. Do you have anything?

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah. I think for me as a camper, when I first learned that I had to do Sing, I was not excited. It was very daunting for me. I was like, "I am not going to do anything. I'm going to sit in the back row and I'm not going to enjoy it. It'll be over soon." That was my first thought as we went to that first Sing practice. Thankfully, I grew into it over time like most do and I really enjoyed it at the end, but I think it's a really daunting experience for some. And as a leader, I think it was really fun to have that perspective and help guide my small group and another small group because they get paired up, two to three small groups will pair up for a one Sing act.
So it was fun to help guide them and encourage them to talk to one another and put their act together and kind of you're all in this together, go have a good time. What happens, who wins, who loses? It really doesn't matter, but just go have a good time with people and meet people and have fun with it.

Olivia Knapp:
Yeah. I think something that really sticks out to me is when I got to be a leader two summers ago, I had one camper who just was more on the outskirts of everything and had been really trying to just get to know him more and more each and every day. And I remember it was the last night they were performing their Sing act and they had added this in last minute without... I didn't see it in the original and he just shined on stage and that was his moment and I think it was really sweet because the entire Sing group encouraged him to do it. And so just seeing how a Sing group will encourage everyone in it and so many people like Matthew go into it not wanting to do Sing, have probably never stepped on foot on a stage or ever performed in front of people and they leave having so much fun.
And you'll watch people leave Waco Hall or Roxy Grove and they just have smiles and they're just beaming because they just had the best time on stage. And so it's just really sweet to see people who you maybe wouldn't expect or even they wouldn't expect just shine on that stage during Sing.

Derek Smith:
Just a little example, maybe someone kind of finding a place, a role, opportunity at Baylor early on. Yeah. Any other favorite memories as being small group leaders?

Olivia Knapp:
Oh many.

Derek Smith:
Yeah.

Olivia Knapp:
I can speak on one. There was one time where we were transitioning between, we had just finished, we have a friendship talk that our lovely friend King gets to give every summer. And so we were just leaving friendship talk and we were heading over to a small group time where we just got to sit and talk with our campers. And it was really sweet because the sun was just shining. It was the perfect day and I had a frisbee in the back of my backpack and so we were like, "Why don't we just play frisbee for a little bit on our way over to our small group area?" And so we're just throwing the frisbee back and forth and we ended up making a game where like if you caught the frisbee, you had to answer a question that someone asked. And so it was a moment where we really just got to know each other but in such a fun and lively way that I think really bonded our group together, which is really sweet.

Matthew Peterson:
Yeah. I think for me, something unique about my Line Camp experience is that I was a specialty camper and a specialty leader. So it's the last week of the summer, they hold a 11th session for specifically honor students and ECS students. So students in honors, engineering, computer science, they all are kind of geared toward that week of camp.

Olivia Knapp:
You're an ECS student. Yeah.

Matthew Peterson:
Correct. Yes. So I was a camper there and a leader for that week, which meant I was also living in Teal Residential College, both as a freshman and sophomore. So I got to live with a lot of my campers. So I was seeing members of my small group every day just walking in and out of Teal, going to class. And then in and around like the EV dining hall. So I think that was really cool and just seeing my campers around campus randomly. And it's always like, "Hey, how are you? How are you doing? What's going on in your life? What clubs have you joined? How are classes going?" All that sort of thing. So yeah.

Derek Smith:
You think about this, y'all have been, it sounds like really a part of Line Camp, almost your entire Baylor experience. Is that right?

Olivia Knapp:
Yes. Yeah.

Derek Smith:
Well, as we wind down, you all both have done such a great job of really immersing us in what the experience is like. I'm sorry, we talk a lot about Baylor's caring community. That's who we are. That's an aspiration that we always strive to reach. It seems like you both, you and your fellow leaders in Line Camp have that opportunity to be that caring community very early in a student's experience. Olivia, I'll start with you. Is that something that's meaningful to you? Is that something you think about?

Olivia Knapp:
Oh, extremely. I think one of the most rewarding parts of getting to serve Orientation Baylor Line Camp in general, whether it's being an OBLC leader or being on the student leadership team is coming back to school August. And getting to see all of those familiar faces that you either as a leader had as campers or as SLT just got to help serve in very minuscular ways. Getting to see them on campus and getting to see them thrive and just knowing that you got to be just a little bit of a step of their way onto campus and be that familiar face to them is truly one of the most rewarding parts of getting to serve orientation in Baylor Line Camp.

Matthew Peterson:
I would echo that same thing. And I think the number one reason why we do what we do is just because we care and it's that posture of like, "Welcome, can I help you? What can I do for you to make your experience better? I'm so glad you're here." All those things, they just come together and everyone on the team shares that same view, same mission, and we're all just on one team trying to make everyone feel at home and welcome them to Baylor.

Derek Smith:
So you would both heartily recommend students thinking about it, maybe they're from out of state. They're like, "Ooh, do I need to go to..." Come on, right?

Olivia Knapp:
Oh yeah, 100%.

Matthew Peterson:
Absolutely.

Olivia Knapp:
Definitely speaking from an out-of-state thing, I think sometimes being out of state will lean people away from serving Orientation Baylor Line Camp because they're like, "I don't know housing or stuff like that." But you end up living in the residence halls. So you're living on campus, you're getting fed, you're getting to hang out with friends, live under a roof with 20 to 30 other students in a program of 60 students. And you just get to make a huge, big family. And I think that's been the coolest thing of just being out of state and coming here and being like, "I have a family here in Waco, Texas, one during the school year, but also during the summer."

Derek Smith:
And Matthew, for students, you'd say incoming students, don't miss out.

Matthew Peterson:
Yes, do not miss out. Find a way to come to Line Camp. It's just going to be really unique. Coming somewhere you may not have been before with people you don't know before, it could be a scary experience for some at first, but I don't think it's one that anyone will regret and I would highly encourage and recommend.

Derek Smith:
Well, you all sell it well. You're effective ambassadors for Line Camp. We really appreciate you coming on and sharing best of luck to each of you throughout the rest of the summer. Hope it continues to just have a lot of fun and it seems like it never gets old. You just get that opportunity to keep meeting new people and welcoming to Baylor. Olivia, Matthew, thanks so much for what you do and thanks for joining us.

Olivia Knapp:
Thank you.

Matthew Peterson:
Yes, thank you.

Derek Smith:
Great to have you here. Olivia Knapp and Matthew Peterson, student leaders with Baylor Line Camp, our guest today on Baylor Connections. You can find links to Baylor Line Camp in the show notes and you can find this and every program online in multiple forms. You can get the video on the Baylor University at YouTube Channel, youtube.com/baylor and you can find each program online as well on iTunes each week. You can download it. I'm Derek Smith. Thanks for joining us here on Baylor Connections.