Grow@BU Participant Spotlights
Read below for spotlights on participants who have completed the Grow@BU professional development initiative.
August 2026
Landa Jacobo
A self-described lifelong learner, Landa Jacobo was drawn to Baylor as a place to work, learn, contribute, and grow. She credits Baylor’s “faith-based community, nationally recognized academic excellence, beautiful campus, family-oriented culture, commitment to servant leadership” as an ideal fit for this autodidact who has spent a career in education. Prior to joining the Baylor staff as the Office Manager for the Special Collections Library in The Texas Collection in July 2023, Landa built a successful career in education with experience in instruction at the primary, secondary, and college levels.
A passion for education is evident in Landa’s own educational journey. The daughter of a Christian minister, she has lived all over Texas and has completed coursework from both Cisco and Ranger Junior Colleges, Weatherford College, and Tarleton State. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History from UT- Permian Basin and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Grand Canyon University. Her passion for education continues to grow as she regularly seeks out learning opportunities through reading, podcasts, LinkedIn Learning, and campus learning opportunities including the Grow@BU Professional Development Initiative, which she recently completed. An educator at heart, Landa actively seeks opportunities to share with her team what she has learned and has even launched a monthly newsletter within the Texas Collection titled The Learning Ledger.
Landa credits Baylor's learning opportunities with helping her strengthen the professional skills she relies on daily. She also notes that these opportunities have enabled her to build meaningful relationships across the University. In her spare time, she enjoys staying active, enjoying family and pet time, and as she describes it, “engaging with literature, film, and thought-provoking podcasts". Always seeking ways to grow and learn, Landa offers a word of encouragement to all of us at Baylor. As she says, “Today is the best time to begin investing in professional development and personal growth". Thank you, Landa, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
July 2026
Sheila Smith
Waco-area native, Sheila Smith, has deep roots both in the local community and at Baylor. As a child, she recalls her mother bringing her to campus to see the Bears and to visit the Strecker Museum, at that time located in the basement level of Sid Rich. She graduated from nearby Robinson High before SpaceX moved to McGregor and Robinson still boasted the only Rockets in town. Her roots only grew deeper when Sheila joined the Baylor staff back in 2014.
Her Baylor career began as a part-time Administrative Assistant in the Honors Residential College. She loved the job and was proud to be at Baylor, and then in 2019 she had an opportunity to go full-time. Today she serves as the Office Manager for Medical Humanities, and has helped the newly-elevated department transition from program status. Along her path, Sheila earned her BBA in Accounting. Staying true to her roots, she stayed local and earned her degree from Tarleton State through the University Center at nearby MCC.
This May, her Baylor roots grew even deeper as her youngest daughter earned her Masters in Communication, courtesy of Baylor’s tuition remission benefit. At the same time, Sheila was completing the Grow@BU Professional Development Initiative - completing all requirements in April. She credits Grow@BU with helping her get to know people from across campus. A self-described home body, Sheila enjoys reading, but she also doesn’t mind heading south to Austin whenever she can to visit her oldest daughter. We recognize Sheila this month for her commitment to professional development and her commitment to Baylor!
Tiffany Ridings
When Tiffany Ridings moved to Waco in 2024, it was a homecoming of sorts for her. She began her college career at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR, before transferring to Baylor. After a year, she returned to Ouachita and finished her degree in communication with a minor in music uncertain if her path, and perhaps Providence, would lead her back to Waco.
Prior to her most recent move to Waco, Tiffany was sent by Antioch Community Church to northeast Scotland where she served with a new ministry Revive Scotland, now Revive Ministries, for three years. Tiffany found her way back to Baylor in November 2024 when she joined the Mayborn Museum in a temporary capacity before going full-time in February 2025 as the Events Coordinator. But perhaps the biggest life change came in late 2025 when she married her husband, Timothy. The two met at Antioch where Tiffany, a classically trained vocalist, serves on the worship team and leads worship for Selah, a ministry for single mothers. Her multitude of ministry skills extends beyond singing and includes playing both the piano and guitar as well.
In her personal time, she enjoys reading or listening to audio books, practicing photography, and loves spending time with family. She also likes playing board games, card games, even group games, and not surprisingly, she loves music. Tiffany completed the Grow@BU Professional Development Initiative in April where she says the programming helps staff catch more of the vision of what Baylor is trying to achieve. And it has helped her make campus connections with other like-minded people seeking to grow. That’s music to our ears. Keep up the great work, Tiffany.
Adrianna Diaz
Just how Adrianna Diaz came to Baylor is one of her favorite stories to tell. In late 2022, she was researching new opportunities when a recruiter at Baylor reached out to her. She admits at first she thought it was a spam email. But she had been praying about next steps in her career, and when she saw a commercial for Waco less than a day later, she realized maybe God was trying to answer her prayer.
As they say, the rest is history. She applied, interviewed, and joined the Baylor staff in 2023. She currently serves as Senior Procurement Manager for Student Life in Business Services. Procurement is a field she says she “fell into” early in her career. While earning her BBA in HR Management and Entrepreneurship at Texas State, Adrianna had begun working at Oil State Industries. It was there she was first offered a position in procurement; a field she has since made her home. She later joined GE where she continued working in procurement for over a decade before making the move from Houston to Waco.
At Baylor she quickly became active attending professional development workshops, impressed by the fact Baylor made learning employee-driven and easily accessible. In April she completed the Grow@BU requirements. A lover of learning, in her free time Adrianna loves to read anything from mystery to science fiction, to self-improvement and business books. But she also likes to get away, including traveling to state and national parks, or you may just see her cruising some backroad in her restored ’67 Buick Skylark listening to 60s and 70s tunes. Keep up the professional development, Adrianna, and maybe we’ll see you on the open road.
Jonathan Hill
Much of Jonathan Hill’s childhood was spent on the Baylor campus, and perhaps for that reason his college career initially took him in a completely different direction. The son of a local sportswriter, Jonathan followed his father to practices and games, got to meet and know the players, and was exposed to the media side of athletics at a young age. When he graduated high school and planned to continue his education, he went in a direction away from the world he had known and ended up studying Marine Biology at Texas A&M-Galveston.
But as it often does, life brought him back to his roots in Central Texas where he attended MCC before completing his Bachelor degree at Tarleton State. Life came back full circle as Jonathan became a Baylor Bear in his own right completing a Masters in Sports Management from Baylor. Half-way through his graduate studies he joined the Baylor staff in Athletics in 2015. Since 2019, Jonathan has been a part of Baylor’s Marketing & Communication Brand Integration team where he currently serves as Brand Manager.
As his career progressed to a leadership role, Jonathan noticed some of the professional development opportunities at Baylor applied to the new ideas and skills he needed to better lead and direct the work of others. In April he completed the Grow@BU requirements and is far along the path to completing Lead@BU as well. Away from work he loves reading and being a husband and father. You might also spot him in town enjoying his own perfect Waco day at the zoo or a museum, at church, Hawaiian Falls, or simply relaxing with family and friends at home. Don’t be surprised if you catch him taking in a Baylor sporting event as well. Congratulations, Jonathan on completing Grow@BU and keep up the great work.
Katherine Hudson
For her five-year anniversary service award gift from Baylor, Katherine Hudson selected the traditional diamond pin. Historically the pin had been the most popular selection among Service Award recipients, and it seemed the perfect fit for this lover of history. In fact, history was her major at Christopher Newport University in Virginia where Katherine was surrounded by some of the best of America’s historic charm in nearby colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown.
Drawn by the vibrancy and energy of a college campus, Katherine was drawn to working in higher education. After graduation, she found her way to Waco and Baylor stating that she felt drawn by Baylor’s Christian mission. Currently she serves as the Assistant Director of Marketing Strategy for Baylor’s growing Robbins College.
With such a strong connection to the university environment, it is no surprise Katherine’s learning journey is still continuing. Currently she is working toward a Masters degree, and in April she completed the requirements for Grow@BU. She was already sharpening her skills and learning new ones before the Grow@BU initiative was announced. Having found the trainings she had attended to be helpful and relevant to her job, she set out to be among the first to complete the new program. She still loves reading history as well as spending time with her husband and her two cats, Sasha and Ramses. Perhaps it was no coincidence she was reading a book on ancient Egypt at the time she provided these details. Keep learning Katherine and keep up the great work here at Baylor.
June 2026
Sam Smith
Sam Smith faced a challenge as a young teenager most people will never encounter. On her 13th birthday she suffered a stroke as a result of spinal meningitis that left her unable to speak or walk. She recovered over the following months, but her story ever since has not been the story of just a survivor, but also of a thriver. Her experience as a young teen deepened her faith, emboldened her witness, and inspired her to help grow others.
After meeting her husband at work at the State School in nearby Mexia, the young family moved to Waco where Sam began working in Human Resources at Waco ISD. A friend worked at Baylor, and after learning of Baylor’s tuition remission plan, Sam set her eyes on a career change and joined Baylor in fall 2018 at the Texas Hunger Initiative, now known as the Baylor Collaboration on Hunger and Poverty. The tuition remission came in handy as planned and her second son AJ will graduate from Baylor in 2027.
In her time at Baylor, Sam has continued to grow and is now a key part of the inaugural staff of the newly formed School of Earth and Environmental Sciences where she serves as the school’s Administrative Manager. In April, Sam completed the Grow@BU Professional Development Initiative, but she continues to invest in others as well. In early 2025, she launched a private initiative called She Speaks Boldly to help women heal and grow, and to help them “become the authentic women God wants them to be.”
Away from the office, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her three children Traylen, AJ, and daughter Aryanna. Congratulations, Sam, and thank you for your commitment to professional development and your contributions to Baylor.
Tamra Burkhart
While visiting a friend enrolled at Truett Seminary in the fall of 2017, Tamra Burkhart and her husband Blake fell in love with Waco’s hometown charm and Baylor’s Christian mission. After completing their studies at Wayland Baptist University, located midway between Amarillo and Lubbock off Interstate 27, the couple moved to Central Texas in search of careers and to begin their post-collegiate life.
After spending a year teaching preschool, Tamra joined Baylor’s Office of the Registrar in the fall of 2019. Now in her seventh year on staff, she serves as the Undergraduate Program Coordinator for Psychology and Neuroscience, where she helps plan undergraduate events and assists students with registration and enrollment to ensure they maintain their academic progress toward graduation. The role is a natural fit as Tamra majored in Psychology at WBU, while minoring in both Business Administration and Art.
Tamra was part of the first group to complete Grow@BU in April. An avid learner, her journey is not done yet as she is currently working on completing the requirements for the Lead@BU Professional Development Initiative. In addition to being a professional, a wife, and a mother, Tamra loves to connect with her passion for art and crafting. This summer she will have to schedule her hobby around her next educational adventure when she begins a Masters in Educational Psychology at Baylor. Way to go, Tamra! Keep learning and we wish you the best in all you do.
