By Lindsey Kay Hurtt 
Emilie Moore ’11 has served as front desk receptionist, co-chair of the service and ministry committee, editor of the Torch monthly newsletter, and president during her four years at Brooks College Living and Learning Center. “Living at Brooks has made my Baylor experience what it is,” Moore said. “For me, it was perfect. It was a family when I needed one most.”
When Moore began her college search, Baylor was not even on her radar. During Moore’s senior year, her mother was sifting through National Merit Scholarships that Moore, a National Merit Finalist, would qualify for, and she discovered Baylor. “I wouldn’t have been able to come if it weren’t for that scholarship,” said Moore, who decided to come visit. “It was the only school I flew to visit. I had never been to Texas before,” the Montana native said.
Moore came for Winter Premiere. “I remember sitting in the opening ceremony and feeling overwhelmed with relief because they started the ceremony with prayer. I hadn’t realized that my heart was wanting an environment that cultivated prayer and spiritual growth,” Moore said. By the time Moore flew home, Baylor was at the top of her list of prospective schools.
During a housing information session, Moore found out about Brooks College. “Dr. Rishi Sriram gave the presentation. The way he was describing Brooks was so compelling to me that I wanted to look further into it. I didn’t feel I would thrive anywhere else,” Moore said.
Moore was looking over her old Brooks application a few weeks ago and remembered what drew her to the residential community. “I was so hungry for a community and personal growth, and I saw Brooks as a place where that would happen, where I would have responsibilities, and where a lot of learning would take place,” she said.
When she got to Brooks, Moore began serving on the ministry and service committee as prayer team coordinator. The team met weekly at 7 a.m. to pray.
“A lot of what we do at Brooks is about rhythm and consistency,” Moore said. “Everyone Sunday, there’s dinner. Every Tuesday, there’s tea. Every weekday, there’s prayer twice a day. Every Christmas, there’s a Christmas party. Morning prayer is a part of that. Recognizing seasonal and weekly rhythms has been really good for us,” Moore said.
Moore’s time as prayer team coordinator served as preparation. “That was awesome for me to do as a freshman because I was responsible for coordinating the group and keeping track of prayer requests,” Moore said. She still has the list of prayer requests, many of which she has seen fulfilled. “That was a great responsibility for me to have because it was a role where no one was really holding me accountable, but I knew that it mattered and people were going to be affected by it,” Moore said.
Moore wrote for the Torch, Brooks’ monthly newsletter, her freshman year. Because of Moore’s consistency, she was offered the position of editor her sophomore year. “I tried to make it more structured and regular. I spent a lot of late nights putting it together to send to the copy center. It taught me to interact in a professional setting with different people,” Moore said.
Moore was elected president her junior year, after serving as co-chair of the service and ministry committee. “Part of my hope, as president, was to see people grasp the idea of a community as a way of life and understand Brooks’ ideals,” said Moore, adding that many of those ideals may be countercultural. Brooks residents sign a 
community covenant upon applying. “If I could sum that covenant up in a few words, I would say it is about integrity, honor, and love,” Moore said.
“Brooks is a community where we bear each other’s burdens and put the community as a whole above ourselves. Our purpose is to grow in every area of our lives, to learn together, inside and outside the classroom, and to become whole, complete people,” Moore said.
After graduation in May, Moore plans to pursue her love of university communities with a master’s degree in higher education in student affairs. “Living on campus for four years has given me a behind-the-scenes perspective. I hope to learn more about how a university works and find out what my place in a university could look like. I’ve loved working with students, developing leaders, and seeing people catch hold of their dreams and grow to understand themselves. I want to continue being a part of that.”
