Praying for the Professor

My professor opens every class with prayer.

I had to miss class because I was sick, and my professor reached out to check on me to see how I was feeling.

I was having a really rough time that day, and my professor noticed, asking me to stay after class to see how she could care for me.

These stories and those like them may be unique across the nation, but they’re not at all uncommon on the Baylor University campus. However, what happens when it’s the professor, not the student, who finds himself or herself in a time of need?

Stanley Wilfong, MS, RD, LD, FAND, Senior Lecturer and Program Coordinator in Nutrition Sciences in Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, discovered the answer to this question firsthand.

A little over a month ago, Wilfong’s 84-year-old mother, who lives with him and his wife, suffered her first minor heart attack. A couple of weeks later, she woke her son up early in the morning with light headedness, shortness of breath, and intense chest pain. Wilfong and his mother immediately headed to the emergency room.

As they sat together in the ER waiting room, Wilfong finally had the opportunity to send his 8 am class a message through Canvas letting them know that he was with his mother at the hospital, and he would need to cancel class that day. Since the notification was last minute, he also reached out to his colleague, Nutrition Sciences Lab Technician Lori Acosta, to ask if she would run by his classroom to make sure there were not any students sitting in the room who had missed the cancellation message.

When she arrived, Acosta did find students in the room. But she did not find them sitting around angrily waiting for Wilfong to show up. Instead, they were huddled together—praying for their professor and his mom.

The emails started shortly afterward.

I’m sorry to hear about your mom. Know that I’m praying for her.

After his mother was admitted to the hospital and settled, Wilfong was able to make it to one of his afternoon classes. He explained the situation to his students and how he may struggle a little with his lecture that day. But he made it through.

As he was walking to his car after class, Wilfong heard someone calling his name from across the street. It was a student from his class.

I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. Do you mind if I pray with you?

Wilfong managed to choke out a “thank you” after the prayer, but the tears really started to flow when he got into his car and began to drive away.

“It just reminded me of how great my students are, and what a special place Baylor is,” Wilfong shares. “If I was at another school, it may happen, but I know at a lot of schools, it would not. What a blessing it is to work at Baylor University and to get to work with these students.”

The kind words, check-ins, and prayers for his mother have continued, and Wilfong continues to be grateful. He reflects on the relationships he forms with his students. He truly cares for them, and now he knows—they care about him, too.

“My students know how I feel about them, what I want for them,” Wilfong says. “Most of the time, you think of your professors as a means to an end. The student just wants to get through the class and move on. But honestly, I think my students actually care about me, my family, and my life.

“That’s what Baylor brings. It’s not just about a student. It’s not just about a class. It’s about a relationship.”