Name: Cornelius U-Jean Baker
Year: Junior
Major: Behavioral Neuroscience
Hometown: Wichita
Twitter Handle: @BakerCorn
Activities you are involved in: KU Dance Marathon – Recruitment & Morale Committee, Allyship Workshop – Student Facilitator, Student Senate – On-Campus Senator, Student Housing – Oliver Resident Assistant, Office of Admissions – Multicultural Recruitment Team
Cornelius and his fellow RA’s
What are your off-campus activities?
At the moment I have not been as involved in off-campus activities. However, certain things I have participated in such as Alternative Breaks and KU Dance Marathon have allowed me to branch out into the Lawrence community as well as outside of the state. Being able to see the impact my work can have on my environment has become extremely influential in fostering my dedication to service. Being an Orientation Assistant has exposed me to other opportunities I have to pursue my goals of being more involved in my community.
Why did you want to be an OA?
Being an Orientation Assistant seemed like a great opportunity to give back to KU after the fantastic experiences I’ve had at this institution. I really wanted to be able to share my experiences with incoming students and influence the beginning of their transition in a positive way like others had done for me. I remember how terrified and excited I was for my Orientation and the regrets I have for not asking the things I wanted to and establishing connects early on in my journey to KU that would have helped ease my anxiety. I can honestly think of no better job than having the chance to be that contact for others as they begin their journey.
Why do you think KU students need to get involved in activities?
One of the things I push the most in my student interactions is involvement in extracurricular activities. From my own personal experiences, as well as from those I have observed from my residents as a RA, involvement is extremely important for a students’ success at KU. I believe involvement is so important because it helps you start to feel like you belong. Once you become involved in the community is when you start to actually believe that you are a Jayhawk. It is most frequently where friendships bloom and networks are created. The support I have received from organizations I have been a part of are the main reason I am still currently at this institution and why my love for it has grown immensely during my time here. I’ve noticed through my work with students that something as simple as just knowing people would notice if you weren’t there can be the difference between someone deciding to stay at the University or leave.
What drew you to KU?
I definitely struggled with my decision of whether or not I wanted to come to KU but what eventually drew me here was my ability to see myself on this campus. I felt like I could be successful here and that I could find a place where I belonged. I remember sitting outside of the Kansas Union on my first official visit and just watching the students pass by while imagining myself in their shoes in a couple of months and it was a good fit. That’s when I knew I was making the right decision.
Favorite place on campus and why:
My absolute favorite place on campus would have to be Jaybowl on the first floor of the Kansas Union. I have spent many weekends there with my friends especially in my first year. Part of the reason for this is that I worked at a bowling alley back home through a majority of my high school years so being in a bowling alley has become a very familiar and comfortable place for me. Also, it is where I had some of my most memorable experiences in my time at KU.
What has been the most inspirational person/place/event/etc. on KU’s campus?
The most memorable event I have experienced while at KU has been my participation in diversity retreats such as Colors of KU. I have never experienced a situation quite like this in all of my time here. I met numerous people who I am still in contact with and was able to open up and share things that I have never shared before with my peers. I learned a lot about myself and my classmates and was inspired by the experience to place the work of social justice as a priority in my life and try to inspire others to do the same. It is truly an experience that I believe will stay with me throughout the rest of my life.
Cornelius’s Colors of KU group- Back Row (from left to right): Victor Zaharopoulos, Laura Fagen, Cornelius Baker, Christina Kerns, Drew Harger;
Front Row: Eric West, Dylan Fehl, Caroline Boddington, Ramona Yoder and Miranda Wagner
What would you have liked to know your first week of classes?
I would have really liked to know my first week of classes that everything was going to be okay even when it seemed like it wouldn’t. I had a lot of doubt my first week because things did not turn out exactly how I had planned. I didn’t keep in touch with many friends I had made in high school, I didn’t feel confident about my academic abilities to succeed or financial capabilities to support myself through college, and I felt extremely homesick for a long period of time and as if I wasn’t doing a great job at making new friends. What I learned much later through discussions with people I consider to be some of my best friends that I met during that first week is that many were feeling the exact same things. During your first week many of your peers might be feeling the same way as you are feeling. College is a huge change for and it takes time to adjust but you have to allow yourself the time to do so.
Anything about you that most people don’t know?
One of the things I do to cheer me up when I am feeling down is to go to the tunnels in the Kansas Union and sing. Singing is one of my biggest passions and the one thing that makes me feel better regardless of the mood I am experiencing. Also the acoustics in the tunnels are great and allow you to belt without fear of getting a noise complaint.
Cornelius, far left, with the KU 2014 Orientation Assistants