Winnipeg Community Award

Naming History

Many of us grew up with Winnie the Pooh stories, but few know they were inspired by a real bear named Winnie, short for Winnipeg. In 1914, Lieutenant Harry Colebourn encountered a black bear cub, at a train station in Winnipeg. Colebourn, a veterinary officer, formed a deep bond with Winnie during WWI, using apples and condensed milk for training. Winnie became the regiment's mascot, fostering camaraderie among soldiers. This nurturing environment shaped Winnie's gentle nature, evident when she later met Christopher Robin at the London Zoo, whose relationship was witnessed by Christopher’s father Alan Alexander Milne who then wrote the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. In honor of this legacy, Baylor Bears award the Winnipeg Community Award to student veterans embodying this spirit of caring community.

Award Significance

At Baylor University we are dedicated to embodying, "caring Christian Community", both in the community we strive to cultivate on campus, but also this is a calling to cultivate this same culture within the communities we go on to be a part of. Within the military, our student veterans, often experience profoundly deep connections to the brothers and sisters they serve with. These relationships, forged in the fires of adversity, often created a bond like no other. These student veterans carry this value of deep community to Baylor as they build relationships with each other and the rest of the Baylor family. However, healthy positive community, takes individuals who are willing to engage, even when it is uncomfortable (being non-traditional students in traditional student settings). These individuals who are willing to be cultivators of healthy and positive community, have a profound impact on the rest of our community and furthermore, build bridges so that the larger Baylor community has meaningful engagement with these students who bring so much to our campus. Each year, we recognize one Baylor student veteran who is a true cultivator of this community.

If you have connected with a student veteran who embodies the values of a 'cultivator of community', please nominate them for this award here: Nominate Here

Below are prior recipients of this award: