Whiz Kid of the Week: Jacob Baker

Grade:  12, graduating senior

School:  Broadneck High, Center for Applied Technology-South

Parents:  Ed and Susie Baker

It has been a busy year for Broadneck resident and graduating senior Jacob Baker, a student at the Center for Applied Technology-South where he is in the Network Systems Administration program.

Baker was the valedictorian of the CAT-South Class of 2011 with a GPA of 4.5. He gave an inspirational speech at their graduation ceremony on May 20.

Baker also recently won 1st place in the county’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math competition program – one of only 14 students in Anne Arundel County to receive a program award at .

He also is the first student in CAT-South history to be a State Gold Medalist and national competitor for three consecutive years in the SKILLS-USA competition. (SKILLS-USA is a national organization for students enrolled in a career occupation program in public high schools, trade and technical schools, and colleges. Currently, there are approximately 306,000 students involved in the organization nationwide, 5,500 students statewide, and 168 students at the Center of Applied Technology South.) He will be competing in the national competition starting June 20.

Baker had a 4.0 GPA at Broadneck, was a member of the Superintendent’s Teen Advisory Group for the last two years, and won a $20,000 merit scholarship to Stevenson University. He also won a $36,000 scholarship to Johnson and Wales from SKILLS-USA to use over two years, and an internship with Unleashed Technologies in Columbia.