GML Scholars Past and Present
Current Scholars
2024 GML Scholar: Tomas Chapman
Tomas Chapman, 2024 GML Scholar, lives in Mexico City, Mexico and is the son of Australian missionaries. Tomas graduated from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) specializing in Translation for International Relations, with a passion to use his linguistic skills to bring people together. Since graduating, he has worked in student ministry with Compañerismo Estudiantil in Mexico, supported the persecuted church with Voice of the Martyrs Mexico, and spent a semester supporting women in trafficking and prostitution with El Pozo de Vida. His learning interests include community transformation, cross cultural and intercultural communication, and working against social injustices. He describes his beloved Mexico as an incredibly diverse country where daily life differs drastically from big cities to small towns and from one culture and ethnicity to another, making it a difficult place to define simply. He particularly values the Mexican people’s, “sense of hospitality, solidarity, tight-knit community, and willingness to come together for a common cause.”
2024 GML Scholar: Laury Hidalgo
Laury Hidalgo, 2024 GML Scholar, is from the Dominican Republic. Though Laury has a background in education, she has always had a passion for community development. In her 7 years with Re-Vision, she had opportunities to plan health clinics, job and leadership trainings, and vocational fairs. She also volunteered with Compassion International Missions Medical Outreach and Love Serves International, gaining valuable insights into how generational poverty affects the vulnerable in the Dominican Republic. She is interested in establishing systems where local churches can serve as catalysts for change, in touch with their community’s needs while ensuring continued dignity. Laury is deeply committed to continuous learning and growth, eager to contribute meaningfully to better the lives of vulnerable people trapped in generational poverty. Laury describes the Dominican Republic as a tiny, diverse island with deserts, sandy beaches, beautiful mountains, cold rivers, and vibrant cities. “Nevertheless, our best asset is our people,” she says, coming in all shapes, colors, and sizes, each full of joy and humor. “When Merengue plays, Dominicans can’t sit still!” Laury is excited to embark on new challenges and is committed to serving her people with, “everything God has put in my hands.”
2023 GML Scholar: Andrea Chajin
Andrea Chajín, 2023 GML Scholar, is from Barranquilla, Colombia. After earning two undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Economics, Andrea has spent the past 4+ years working for Tearfund, a development and humanitarian aid NGO. Her work as a project officer within Tearfund stirred in her an interest to better serve communities in Colombia through asset-based development. Andrea’s home country is full of diverse landscapes (beautiful rivers, beaches, mountains, and canyons) and is the second most biodiverse country in the world with more than 58,300 recorded species of animals and plants. And yet the people of Colombia are impacted by food insecurity resulting in high malnutrition rates. Andrea sees Colombia’s great agricultural potential as a resource that could guarantee food sovereignty for vulnerable and remote communities throughout the country. Andrea is excited for her time in Waco and is, “looking forward to learning a lot inside and outside the classroom.”
2023 GML Scholar: Bethanie Saint Louis
Bethanie Saint Louis, 2023 GML Scholar, was born and raised in Haiti. She describes her home country as, “a beautiful bi-lingual country with a vibrant culture, beautiful mountains and beaches, and exquisite cuisine sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.” Bethanie’s career has given her the opportunity to work with individuals, families, and communities impacted by a wide range of social injustices. She began in the humanitarian sector in Human Resources and then worked as a Project Manager supporting the design and implementation of Haitian relief and community development projects. She has also been involved in youth-led grassroots initiatives to influence change through dialogue and accountability. As a GML scholarship awardee, Bethanie looks forward to building on the tools and best practices learned at Garland School to influence advocacy movements and design social programs that promote holistic transformation for the vulnerable populations within her beautiful, fragile country.
2022 GML Scholar: Emily Ortiz Escobar
Emily Ortiz Escobar is the inaugural GML scholarship recipient from Latin America. Emily joins us from Guatemala City, Guatemala, where she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Emily describes Guatemala as a “country of incomparable richness in ecological diversity, ethnicity, culture and traditions, languages and food. There are many strings that are woven in our country, some bright and joyful, others dark and painful.” Emily is currently serving in her second-year internship through the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (BCHP) working on Guatemala sin Hambre (Hunger Free Guatemala). Emily’s primary responsibility within BCHP is spearheading the Guatemala Food and Landscape analysis with indigenous smallholder farmers in rural Guatemala. This analysis involves conducting an in-depth literature review, building and maintaining relationships with key Guatemalan stakeholders like World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF, and bringing an invaluable on-the-ground perspective to BCHP’s partnerships and proposals. Emily offers a unique point of view to the BCHP team, challenging perspectives by integrating learnings around local viewpoints, providing relevant cultural and spiritual context for the indigenous communities at the center of the WFP impact evaluation, and serving on the DEIB task force.
Alumni Stories
Brooke Abuya, MSW ‘14
Nairobi, Kenya
Passionate about the needs of vulnerable individuals, Brooke works as a caseworker at the Church World Service, Africa conducting refugee prescreens throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. As he works, he envisions an app bringing together communities across Kenya to support children in crisis.
To read more about Brooke's experience in child welfare and his hope to bring Kenyan communities together using a smart phone application, click here.
Dhiana “Dyen” Anggraeni, MSW ‘17
Papua, Indonesia
Dyen is a highly accomplished and experienced child rights practitioner and advocate working as a Child Protection Officer for UNICEF Indonesia, specifically in communities in Papua, a rural and secluded island of Indonesia. Currently, Dyen sees a gap in support between formal government institutions, faith-based services, and more informal grassroots organizations. She dreams of a more integrated network of support for vulnerable children connecting all social services across the many islands.
To read more about Dyen's thoughts on connecting social services across all of Indonesia's many islands click here.
Shade Atanda, MSW '21
Sokoto, Nigeria
Shade Atanda is a missionary, lawyer and Social Worker, currently working in community development projects with Zion World Prayer, Zether Al-Umm Foundation, and Global Hope Network International. She is applying a Transformational Community Development Approach where she identifies and coaches community leaders, develops project champions, and helps vision cast with key stakeholders.
To read more about Shade and the Transformational Community Development Approach, click here.
Mukupa and Chad Harrod, MSW '15
Ndola, Zambia
Mukupa Musonda Harrod (GML Scholarship Recipient) and her husband, Chad, met during their MSW studies in the Diana R. Garland School of Social work. After relocating to Zambia and starting work at a Christian University, the began to notice a chronic population of “street boys” on their commute. After meeting the boys willing to talk and finding out more about the persistent challenged facing these young men, Mukupa and Chad are currently exploring how to bring relief to this aching population.
To read more about Mukupa and Chad and their heart for the homeless children in their community, click here.
Belinda Onyango, MSW ‘19
Nairobi, Kenya
Belinda is currently the Program Manager for adoptions at Buckner International and is passionate about a “Prepare to Care” training curriculum for families going through the adoption process. In her role, she has finalized 42 adoptions with Kenyan families in 2020 and co-authored a user-friendly booklet for Kenyan families interested in adopting.
To read more about Belinda's work with adoptions in Kenya and her training curriculum for Kenyan families going through the adoption process, click here.
Rose Wasike, MSW '15
Kitale, Kenya
Rose Wasike worked with vulnerable children and families for over 10 years before traveling to the United States to earn her MSW at Baylor University. Upon graduating and returning to Kitale, Rose was able to apply the Family Hope Center Model in many Kenyan communities, a model she developed. Currently, the model is implemented across five family centers working in foster, kinship and residential programs.
To read more about Rose and Family Hope Center Model, click here.