Central MA College Standout: Smith College’s Megan Baker

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Susan Wagner, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Smith sophomore Megan Baker will be putting her education and passion for community to use in Washington DC this summer.

Webster native Megan Baker is enrolled in her sophomore year at Smith College in Northampton, MA. She was recently accepted for the Jean Picker Semester-in-Washington Program and is preparing for a summer and fall internship in Washington DC. Baker‘s major is English Language and Literature, with a Government minor and a Community Engagement and Social Change concentration. This student standout is not only excelling academically, but is active in both school and volunteer activities.

Some of her many extracurricular activities include the Smith College Glee Club as well as the Voices and Visions Journal, where she serves as an editorial board member, publicity officer, and general editor. Baker is also president of Spring, an educational outreach organization that she helped to found.

A Conversation with Megan Baker

SW: What is the career and/or future you envision for yourself?

MB: At the moment, I plan to teach English at the secondary level or work in advocating for education reform, or possibly both!

SW: What is your course of study and what drew you to it?

MB: I’m studying English because I have always loved to read and write. My homework a lot of the time is to read novels, and in class we discuss them. I can’t think of a better way to spend my day!

SW: You have been accepted for a program allowing you to internship in Washington DC. How did that come about?

MB: I’m also studying government because I have recently developed an interest in politics. I have been really enjoying my government classes, and I am lucky enough to have been accepted into a program for this summer and fall through Smith called the Picker Semester-in-Washington Program. I will be interning at different places around the Capital to see public policy at all stages, and will also take classes while I’m there. This program will tie in to my concentration as well. Concentrations are a way to take courses from across disciplines and weave them together cohesively to explore a topic, and my topic is education equity under the branch of Community Engagement and Social Change. I plan to be interning in places relating to education and education policy during the Picker Program. My various jobs working with children have led me to be interested in education, and I am very excited to learn more.

SW: What has been either your most memorable course or professor?

MB: Most of my courses have been really great, but a really memorable moment from class is when my professor for an introductory political theory course decided the best way to illustrate social contract theory was to bring in water guns and have a standoff. He distributed them to people around the room, and they all agreed to not squirt the water guns and put them down. Then the professor broke the social contract and brought out a super-soaker, and proceeded to spray the class.

SW: What leadership roles have you taken on campus?

MB: I represent my house to a couple different offices, and am the treasurer of the American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Club on campus. I also work in one of the dining halls on campus as what is essentially a student manager, so I help to train new students and approve payroll, amongst other tasks.

The position I spend the most time working in is as president of an education outreach organization I have helped to found called Spring. We’re new, as we just got chartered in December, but we’ve already held our first program. Splash is a day of workshops for middle and high school students taught by college students on college campuses. This was Smith’s first Splash, but other schools like Amherst College, Clark University, Yale University, and MIT all hold programs as well. It’s super cool! Our Splash was small, but we’ve had a lot of great feedback and are preparing for a bigger and better program next year.

SW: How have you been involved in the community?

MB: I volunteer at the Northampton Interfaith Shelter once a week during the winter months, and have started working and volunteering as a tutor for elementary school and high school students respectively through Project Coach. Project Coach is a really cool program that works with high school students in Springfield, where Smith’s MAT students train them to be coaches in different sports for elementary school students. The program also includes time to work on homework, so that’s where I come in for both the elementary school kids and the high school kids.

SW: What is one thing you have learned about yourself since becoming a college student?

MB: I am so much more capable than I thought I was upon graduating from high school, and I never imagined I would be doing everything I am doing. I am now sure that I can do anything I put my mind to.

SW: What or who has had the greatest influence on you to date? Why?

MB: My family has had a huge influence on me, and in several ways. I first started trying hard and doing well in school so I could be like my sister, both with her as a role model and competitor—whether she knew it or not. Additionally, everyone in my family has done or currently does service work. They have taught me that people are what matter in life. I’ve been particularly influenced by my mom’s experiences with her position at the Adult Education program in Webster, and I think that is partially why I am interested in education reform.

SW: What would someone be surprised to learn about you?

MB: My go-to surprising fun fact about myself is that I used to be a competitive dancer at Canty Dance Centre, now known as The Dancer’s Sole in Webster. Honestly, that still surprises me! It was a great experience, and I really love visiting at the studio when I am home. My friends and I still get together and watch old dance videos that go back to when we were little kids, as some of us started dancing together as early as when we were 3!

SW: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

MB: I hope to either be in graduate school, or be teaching English abroad.

Central MA College Standout is a weekly feature that profiles college and university students in Central MA. Join us every Tuesday for a look at the careers and lifestyles of today’s local college student. If you have suggestions for a profile, email [email protected].

Susan D. Wagner is president of Susan Wagner PR, a boutique public relations firm invested in meeting client's goals with integrity and creativity.

Related Slideshow: The Most and Least Charitable Communities in Central MA

Below are the most—and least—charitable towns in Central Massachusetts. Towns were ranked by how much of local median discretionary income was donated to a charitable cause. The data is taken from the Chronicle for Philanthropy, using IRS records on charitable giving as reported on individual tax returns in 2008, the latest available year.

For each listed town, the total contributions are provided, along with the median contribution, the median discretionary income, and the percent donated. A state and national ranking is also included. State rankings are based on the percent of income donated, while national rankings are based on total contributions.

Note: No data was available for the towns of Tolland, Phillipstown, and Templeton.

Central MA College Standout: Smith College’s Megan Baker

A Conversation with Megan Baker

Related Slideshow: The Most and Least Charitable Communities in Central MA

#70

Hardwick

#69

Winchendon

#68

Townsend

#67

Webster

#66

Oxford

#65

Millville

#64

Shirley

#63

Athol

#62

Blackstone

#61

Gardner

#60

Rutland

#59

Ayer

#58

Brimfield

#57

Douglas

#56

Ware

#55

Bellingham

#54

Palmer

#53

Ashburnham

#52

Mendon

#51

Orange

#50

Sutton

#49

Leicester

#48

Hopedale

#47

Millbury

#46

Brookfield

#45

Upton

#44

Dudley

#43

West Brookfield

#42

Hubbardston

#41

Hudson

#40

Charlton

#39

Sturbridge

#38

Spencer

#37

Barre

#36

Auburn

#35

New Braintree

#34

Grafton

#33

Westminster

#32