Hello Samford, and welcome to Beck's Bench. I'm Beck Taylor. I'm excited about
this episode because we get to learn about an amazing group of Samford students right
here on campus. The Ragland Scholars. The Ragland Scholars Program is named
for one of our distinguished alumna, Elizabeth Sloan Ragland, who, yes,
was the first woman to integrate Samford housing. But equally important was her amazing leadership.
Her warm heart and incredible spirit as a student. A spirit that left a lasting impact on the Samford
community. And to honor that, the Ragland Scholars were started in 2021. Multicultural
student leaders here on campus following in her footsteps. Joining me today is Caley Ingram,
a public health major on a pre-dental track, and political science major Tito Canales-Alvarado.
This year's freshman class president and both are Ragland Scholars. Well,
welcome to Beck's Bench. Caley, Tito, great to have you. So first,
I want to hear from both of you. Tell us a little bit about your Samford journey. How
did you get here? And then why did you apply to the Ragland Scholars program?
For me, I would say Samford was just a calling I could not ignore. For every concern that I had.
I felt like God matched that with Samford. And I remember at the end of my journey,
there was just one prominent concern that I had, and that was finding involvement. I
wanted to be involved in wherever I was. And so I found out about the Ragland Scholars program,
and I felt like it really spoke to all of the concerns that I had and the passions that I had.
And so I applied to the Ragland Scholars program,
and then I found out that I was accepted in the inaugural class.
The alpha class. The alpha class. Congratulations, that’s fantastic. Thank you.
And so and now I'm two years into Samford. And as I look back, I'm not only happy with my choice,
but I am grateful because of the people that I'm surrounded by and just the beautiful community.
Wonderful. We're glad you're here. Tito, how about you?
I think mine's very similar to Caley's. I think it's very similar to every Samford
student. My journey was similar. I grew up not too far away from here,
so I always knew that Samford was where I wanted to be academically. It was where it
was going to lead me to where I wanted to be eventually. And then also it rides the
line between faith and reason, something I found myself really wanting to find in my university.
So I felt as though Samford aligned with everything I needed and the community was
everything that I ever wanted out of my college experience. So I knew it was just perfect. So
when I found out about the Ragland program, which strived for diversity and strived for all
the things that I wanted to do outside of the classroom, I knew it was a no brainer for me.
So I applied. I went through the process that we both went through and you're familiar with,
and I was blessed. I was blessed with it. I remember it was just a huge moment for me
because I felt like it was just weight lifted off my shoulders. I was like,
All right. I knew that this was a place where I was supposed to be.
Oh, what a great story. We're glad you're here, too. Now I've done my homework. Caley
and I read a quote of yours. You said that the kind of community that you wanted to build here
at Samford, and I’m quoting you, embraces our beautiful differences. Say more about that.
Yeah. So for me, when thinking about this important topic, I like to think about the
flip side first. Just imagining a world where everybody is the same. There are no
differences. To me, that seems pretty bland. And so I think that just kind of points to
God's intention. Our Creator intentionally made us with unique and special differences,
and those differences are to be embraced, they're to be celebrated, and they are to be shared.
And so that kind of drives my anxiety to join organizations that want that to come to
fruition. And so just creating an environment for students to come be themselves and share
those gifts. And so I think that when we do that, not only is the door open to creating
meaningful change in our communities such as Samford and Birmingham and wherever we go,
but also glorify God, and I find a lot of value in that.
That's a great answer. You're both involved in a lot of things, Tito. I know you're
involved in a lot of leadership. Freshman class president this year started out with a bang.
Yes, sir. I came in strong.
How do you see Ragland Scholars like yourselves engaged in influencing campus in important ways?
Yes, sir, Absolutely. I think it lines right with Caley said. I mean, it's very important that we
have different people from different backgrounds with different faces everywhere you go,
you know, representing different clubs, different organizations, because it brings a diversity not
only in ideas but in ways of life is something that we can do better at because it allows us
to do things and maybe not our traditional way, but maybe there's a better way out there for us.
So I think it's very vital for any community to have people from different areas,
different walks of life from any way you can think. So I believe
that is what's really important about the Raglands. And then also the Raglands are a
pristine group and not to brag on us too much. No, please brag. Brag Absolutely.
But I feel as though we're a group of young people that are all for the common goal of seeing this
place thrive and be the best possible place it can be, through the way we want to see it,
not the traditional way. You know, there's nothing wrong with the traditional way,
but there's better ways there. And I feel like those Ragland students are the
way to do that. Fantastic. Well, Samford is a better place because
you two are here and Samford's a better place because of the Ragland Scholars
program. So thank you for being the trailblazers for this exciting new
program. We're proud of you both. Thank you. Thanks for joining us.
Thank you.
If you or someone you know might be interested in becoming a Ragland Scholar,
you can find out more information at the website below. Their freshman application
deadline is closing in. It's February the 15th. Well, that's it for this edition of
Beck's Bench. But we'll be back in March and taking a closer look at our men's basketball
team. So be sure to catch them at the Pete as the SoCon season comes to an exciting end.
Until next time, I'm Beck Taylor. And as always, go Bulldogs.