Baylor History Announces Alumni Award Winners!
Baylor History Alumni have made significant contributions to their professional fields and their communities, carrying the Baylor torch throughout the world long after graduation. In recognition and celebration of their incredible achievements, and as an example to current Baylor History majors, the Baylor History Department has created two new awards to be handed out annually to deserving History Alumni.
The Alumni Award for Early Outstanding Achievement recognizes BU History graduates of the previous 15 years for professional distinction through outstanding leadership, contributions to the field, and creativity, as well as service to society, the professional community, and the department, college, or university.
The Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement recognizes less recent BU History graduates (those who graduated 16 or more years ago) for outstanding leadership, contributions to their professional field, and service to their communities.
2025 Alumni Award for Early Achievement | Dylan Washington | History Major 2014
This year Dylan Washington, BU History alumnus, Waco entrepreneur, and musician extraordinaire, was awarded the 2025 Early Achievement Award for his remarkable career and service to the Waco community since graduating from Baylor as a History Major in 2014.
Washington devoted his considerable skills as an entrepreneur and confirmed people person to founding and growing Pinewood Coffee and Pinewood Pub, as well as investing in ownership of Grocery, a curated local clothing and home goods store, helping to launch Sloane’s cocktail bar, and serving as Music Community Manager at Sendero Provisions Co, where he produces all the live music for the Sendero Sessions. In addition to this impressive roster of professional accomplishments, Washington is a talented musician in the band the Ink Caps and also served for several years as part of the Vestry leadership team at his church, Christ Church Waco. All told, Washington has started five businesses in the Waco area and, by his count, trained and mentored over 250 employees, many of whom were Baylor University students. “People are my passion,” says Washington, and it is clear from his years of service to the Waco community in a variety of roles that entrepreneurship, mentorship, and fostering community are what he does best.
2025 Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement | Josh Borderud | Bachelor of Arts 2001 | Masters in History 2003
Josh Borderud, BU History alumnus and Director of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs at Baylor University School of Law, was awarded the 2025 Distinguished Achievement Award.
After completing his BA and MA degrees in history at Baylor as well as a JD from the Baylor Law School, Borderud went on to serve as an assistant district attorney in Milam County, Texas, before joining Waco law firm Pakis, Giotes, Page & Burleson, PC, as a civil litigator, where he was named Outstanding Young Lawyer of McLennan County. In addition to his director role at Baylor School of Law, Borderud serves on the Waco City Council, the board of Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network, the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization, and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation. In a nod to generations of military men in his family, Borderud spearheaded the creation of the McLennan County Veterans Treatment Court in 2018 and the City of Waco Veterans Advisory Board in 2022 for which he received the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service from the American Inns of Court at the United States Supreme Court for excellence in public interest and pro bono activities. He attributes his success in part to the influence of the Baylor History faculty, “who cultivated in their students nuanced intellectual habits, including analytical rigor, the importance of social context, and the value of effective and precise communication.”
Congratulations Dylan Washington and Josh Borderud on your outstanding accomplishments!
Know a Baylor History alumnus or alumna who is making a mark on the world? Nominate them through the link below! Are you a BU History graduate forging creative new paths in your professional or personal community? Nominate yourself! We welcome all your recommendations for our next round of Alumni Awards.