Beauty from Ashes

For Ben Byrum (BBA ’14), Baylor became a place of healing, hope, and new beginnings.

Ben arrived at Baylor during one of the most difficult seasons of his life. In the year leading up to his enrollment, Ben's father passed away from acute myeloid leukemia, his best friend was killed in a car accident, and he was in the room for his grandfather’s passing. What could have been a season defined by loss instead became one of growth, community and purpose.

A third-generation Baylor Bear, Ben came to Baylor hoping to honor his father's dream of seeing both of his sons graduate from college. Along the way, he found lifelong friendships, mentors like Dr. Jeff Doyle and Dr. Burt Burleson who helped shape his journey and a calling to walk alongside others experiencing grief. Together with campus leaders, he helped launch Good Grief, a support group for students navigating loss. This experience eventually led him to pursue chaplaincy and earn his degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.

"My Baylor story may have started in a heavy place," Ben shared, "but Baylor is where I discovered community, purpose and joy again."

Baylor also gave him another unforgettable gift: his wife. Years after meeting at a Lady Bears basketball game, Ben returned to the very same seats in the Ferrell Center to propose.

"It was one of the happiest, most full circle moments of my life," Ben expressed, "all inside the place where everything started."

This weekend, Ben and his wife will celebrate 12 years of marriage and recently welcomed their daughter, Isabella—a future Baylor Bear in the making.

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