Samuel Baker

Samuel Baker has competed as a diver since first grade. So, it is no surprise that he will continue diving while pursuing his degree in psychology or neuroscience. 

Baker is a winner in the Bill of Rights Institute’s Think The Vote platform and a student at Saint Henry District High School in Erlanger, Ky. In addition to competing in diving, Baker is a student ambassador for his school, president of the Saint Henry Spanish Club, and an officer in the school’s Spanish Honors Society. 

“I am proud of both my academic and athletic achievements while maintaining a healthy social life as well,” Baker said. “I am [also] really happy with how much I have improved my time management.” 

Baker’s interest in pursuing a career in psychiatry comes from his grandmother, “who also taught developmental and abnormal psychology to college students,” he said. “I want to follow in her footsteps because it is apparent how she made people’s lives better and gave others the help they needed.” 

Baker also considers his grandmother his hero “because she was the first person to teach me about the virtue of empathy,” he said. “Empathy is a key value which I believe all people should possess.” 

“Additionally, she consistently supports my likes and dislikes, has a keen sense of intelligence, and always pushes me to be the best version of myself,” Baker said. 

Baker cares most about gun violence, civil rights, and health care and views BRI’s Think The Vote platform as a way for students to express themselves individually. 

“I enjoy seeing a new topic/idea provided every other week that people can reply to,” he said. “For me, it means giving my voice to a variety of discussions that I feel most passionate about.”