Meet Camille Baker: Our January Leading Woman

Name: Camille Baker

Major: Strategic Communications

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

What are your career/life goals?

I would love to live and work abroad at some point post-college, and I’m particularly infatuated with European culture. Whether I end up spending a few years in a big city like London, or a small town in the south of France, I will ideally work for a tight-knit media organization and/or advertising consultancy. I want to know that the organization I’m a part of is giving back, so working for a nonprofit agency also appeals to me. I would additionally love to work at a bilingual firm so I can keep my knowledge of French fresh.

What is your favorite part about Strategic Communication? Why did you chose your major?

I love that my major provides a multitude of options post-college in terms of what I can pursue. Though Strat Comm has an overall focus on communications and advertising, because of the variety of J-School courses, I feel like I have a solid background with different interests, from copyrighting to account strategy and graphic design, that I can carry into my career.

Why did you decide to get involved in Mizzou AAF and Mizzou It's On Us?

I owe it to my upperclassmen friends for encouraging me to get involved in both Mizzou AAF and Mizzou It’s On Us. I decided to get involved with Mizzou AAF because I saw it as an overwhelmingly supportive community. I love that AAF looks out for students and seeks out career and networking opportunities that can help guide us on the right path, especially those who tend to have scattered interests like I do. As sexual assault and violence is an inherent issue on college campuses, Mizzou It’s On Us stuck out to me because of its purpose-driven nature, and for the safe space it creates for all students.

What is your favorite part about Mizzou AAF?

My favorite part about AAF is being involved in an organization with so many of my friends who are in the same boat, sharing the same nerves and excitement over entering the workforce. Mizzou It’s On Us has become a community for me in the sense that all the exec members create an empathetic and supportive environment for all of our members. I am looking forward to being able to be much more hands-on with both of these organizations post-COVID.

What other organizations or hobbies are you passionate about?

I would say my workplace has been a big part of my identity in the past couple of years. I work at the French immersion school in Columbia, La Petite Ecole, and have been able to facilitate such unique relationships with the students year to year. I also love that it gives me an outlet to practice my French, and I’m able to learn and improve alongside the kids.

How have your experiences in Theta changed you?

I attribute a ton of who I am today to my friends in Theta. I really value having friends with diverse hobbies, and knowing people who push me to think outside my boundaries, and Theta has done just that.

What does Theta mean to you?

Theta is a hub for passionate women who seek to uplift others in their passions.

Do you have any advice to the underclassmen?

Be unapologetically authentic, and take the time to get to know your member class, even those you don’t immediately click with. You’re all ultimately there for the values you share.

Do you have a specific favorite Theta memory?

On the first snow day last semester, a bunch of other girls living in the house and I threw on our beanies and gathered a bunch of box lids and random items around the house to go sledding down the hill on the front lawn. We also made a snowman, which we dressed in our Supportive Sister bra.