Sixth-Generation Baylor Student Blazes New Path While Staying True to Tradition

As a sixth-generation Baylor Bear, freshman Caroline Gorham is not new to the deep-rooted Baylor University traditions. With Homecoming right around the corner, Caroline said that it will be “one big family reunion, but then again, it always is.” 

Six generations of her family have attended Baylor—beginning with her great-great-great grandmother, Katy Dunn Seymour, who was a student at Baylor in 1885—right before the University relocated from Independence to Waco the following year. 

“Visiting the original campus site in Independence during Line Camp meant so much more because I stood where she would have stood,” Caroline said. “It was a very surreal and emotional experience. Walking through the columns where my great-great-great grandmother went to school, and where so much of my family has visited, made me feel even more connected to my family members and to Baylor’s history.” 

Katy’s daughter and Caroline’s great-great grandmother, Mary Bernetta Seymour Belew, graduated from Baylor in 1916. Mary’s husband, George Haggard Belew, had graduated in 1914 and went on to serve as Baylor’s business manager, working closely with President Samuel Palmer Brooks. Later, George served as a trustee and helped to secure the gift for the construction of Waco Hall. He was also president of the Baylor Athletics Association. Caroline shared that George was actually supposed to be on the bus with the Immortal Ten but had to back out at the last minute. Instead, he ended up driving President Brooks to the scene of the accident. 

Mary and George’s son, John Seymour Belew, graduated in 1941 and eventually returned to Baylor as a chemistry professor, was named dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and served as provost until his retirement. Katherine Ann Belew Gorham, daughter of Mary and George and sister to John, graduated from Baylor in 1943 and later welcomed the Baylor Chamber of Commerce to do service projects at her farm. Katherine’s grandson—Caroline’s dad—also attended Baylor. As did many, many more Belew/Gorham family members. 

In celebration of this long lineage, the Baylor Alumni Association (now known as the Baylor Line Foundation) honored the Belew/Gorham family with the 1998 First Families of Baylor Award. 

“Knowing my family has made such an impact at Baylor makes me feel a great sense of pride. I am thankful for an amazing family that has left a positive impact on Baylor history,” Caroline said. “We are blessed to be a part of the Baylor family.”

Baylor is a “central pillar” in many of Caroline’s family gatherings. She shared that the Baylor Chamber was extraordinarily involved in her great-grandmother’s funeral in 2019 by ushering and serving ice cream, a nod of appreciation to the time spent on her farm and her membership. 

“Every family event has Baylor involved, somehow,” Caroline said laughing. “From family reunions at the Baylor Club to weddings on campus, Baylor is something that always brings us all together. Every year at Christmas, our family holds a football game where the team colors are green and gold.”   

This extensive connection to Baylor and Waco, along with her immediate family’s involvement, demonstrated to Caroline the importance of the community. Ultimately, this solidified her decision to attend Baylor herself. She explains that the family’s time-honored history does not simply lead to recurring attendance by the Belew/Gorham family—each individual, in every generation, has been given the personal choice to attend Baylor. 

Yet, even as a child Caroline had a feeling that she would be a Baylor Bear, and she recalls attending her first elementary school football game and wearing Baylor colors because she “heard ‘football’ and immediately thought ‘Baylor.’” 

“Obviously, I had heard the history and saw the culture my whole life. Growing up, I got to see how Baylor treats its current students and alumni, and it was encouraging,” Caroline recalled. “That said, I knew Baylor was home for me after I officially toured campus as a prospective student.” 

Even with her family’s history deeply rooted in Baylor tradition, Caroline is blazing a path of her own by aiming for a career in physical therapy. Currently, she is enrolled in the Health, Kinesiology, and Leisure Studies program in the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences’ Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation (HHPR). Caroline knows Baylor is providing resources that will set her up for success in her current pre-physical therapy classes and for after graduation when she sets out to earn her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. While many of her family members pursued careers in education or business, she feels most drawn toward the health field and is inspired to help others into recovery because of her own physical therapist. 

“My physical therapist believed in me during the chaos of injury, and I want to be that for someone else,” Caroline explained. “My advisors have been so helpful in guiding me to pick the best classes. Also, HHPR has held several events to give students an opportunity to meet with professionals and I received answers to my questions about the career path.” 

Caroline is looking forward to Baylor’s Homecoming festivities, and she acknowledges this year may bring about a different excitement because she will be experiencing the traditions for the first time as a student. And, as usual, her out-of-town family members will come to visit.  

“We will attend the bonfire, see Pigskin Revue, and go to the football game,” Caroline said. “Homecoming is cool for us because it really is coming back home—for my entire family.”