Fostering Belonging

by Justin Walker

Jon and Dena Billington had provided regular support and endowments for various programs over the years, but knew they wanted to give more to Baylor University – they just weren’t sure in what capacity. Dena, a 1988 graduate with a BS in English, had an idea, but didn’t think it would be possible to put all the pieces together.

“I had an idea of how great it would be if freshmen had a mentor who was a student they could go to with questions,” Dena said. “That was just something on my heart.”

It was on Jon’s heart, too. The couple had sent all three of their children to Baylor, two of whom graduated from the Hankamer School of Business (HSB). When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they saw how different the college experience had become and how important it was for community to exist.

What happened next was purely a God thing, Dena said.

In the fall of 2023, Dena worked with Molly Ferguson, Baylor’s assistant vice president for Parent and Family Giving, to find an area to give to. There were great programs and areas to help, but none spoke to the Billingtons. Eventually, Dena described her idea to Ferguson, who responded with amazement.

Ferguson had just ended a call with former HSB dean Sandeep Mazumder, who planned to pilot a mentorship program at the Business School. The dean’s program sounded almost exactly like Dena’s proposal.

“It was like God put the same idea in both of our hearts at the same time,” Dena said. “We started conversations, and that’s how it came together.”

The Billingtons had found their area and endowed what is now known as the Billington Peer Leader Program, which serves first-year, Pre-Business students as they navigate the college transition at Baylor. By connecting incoming students with upperclassmen Business students, the program fosters deeper community within HSB and Baylor as a whole.

Madeline Prescott, a senior Entrepreneurship and Management major from Dallas, was part of the original pilot program her freshman year before the Billingtons’ involvement. The program was entirely optional at the time, but Prescott thought it would be a good experience.

“As a mentee, my biggest takeaway was the relationship I built with my mentor, Lily Short,” Prescott said. “Lily is wonderful, and I was able to ask her all of the questions I had – even the ones I felt were weird or dumb. She encouraged me to do things I wouldn’t have done otherwise.”

Prescott was so moved by her experience in the Peer Leader Program, she decided to become a mentor. She wanted to provide other students the same opportunities she was granted through the program. She has enjoyed watching students build relationships with one another and seeing them grow comfortable in their new surroundings.

“The program truly helps the freshmen navigate the questions they might think are annoying or weird,” Prescott said. “It’s important for freshmen to have someone to look up to, especially since we were very recently in their shoes.”

Thanks to the Billingtons’ generosity, the Billington Peer Leader Program has grown from an optional format with 40 students and seven leaders to a required component for all first-year, Pre-Business students with 78 leaders.

“It’s just awe-inspiring to see how God’s hand works when you let him,” Jon said. “This is making a difference in the students’ lives, not only while they are at Baylor, but for the rest of their lives.”

As the Billington Peer Leader Program continues to grow and increase its impact, the Billingtons hope it will serve as an example for other institutions to build belonging.

“We would love to see this be a beacon on the hill that people are attracted to and see the Business School being successful in,” Jon said. “We are going to continue to back this, and we hope other donors get involved and it becomes something ingrained in the fiber of Baylor.”