The Georgetown Difference
My favorite thing about the Baker Scholars Program is the people. We are a group with similar values but different interests and experiences, so I have learned a lot from the other Scholars, whom I would not have met if it wasn’t for the Program.
Joan Spirollari (C’22)
The Baker Scholars Program was founded at Georgetown College in 1973 with funding from the George F. Baker Foundation. George F. Baker, a leading financier and philanthropist, strongly believed that business was well served by business leaders educated in the liberal arts and inspired with a social conscience.
Georgetown’s Baker Scholars Program endures because of its home at Georgetown and its chief architect, Royden B. Davis, S.J., who served as Dean of Georgetown College from 1966 to 1989. The Jesuit ideals of “men and women for others” and cura personalis are quite naturally the foundation of Georgetown’s Baker Scholar Program. Upon this Ignatian foundation, the Program continues to remain true to the founders’ values: kindness, honesty, gratitude, generosity of spirit, optimism, and a passion for Georgetown’s ideals.
Guided by George F. Baker’s purpose, Fr. Davis appointed Founding Trustees to help build the community of Georgetown’s Baker Scholars Program. The Program continues to endure with the ongoing commitment of the College Dean’s office and current Trustees.
The Baker Experience
I wanted to apply to the Program because I saw an opportunity that would enhance me as a scholar and, more importantly, as a person.
Sam Telesā (C’23)
The Baker Scholars Program has developed into one of Georgetown University’s most prestigious and sought-after undergraduate programs. The Program seeks exceptional sophomores in Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences who possess a demonstrated interest in business and strong records of academic achievement, community service, and leadership.
After a rigorous application and interview process, selected students are welcomed into the Baker community of current Scholars, Trustees, and Baker alumni. Baker Scholars overwhelmingly say the interview process is among the best preparations for the job interview process. The benefits of the Program – both personal and professional – begin upon selection in the spring of the sophomore year, and continue throughout the undergraduate experience and beyond. To be a Baker is to be a Baker for life!
The Baker Scholars Program offers unique exposure to a range of businesses, nonprofits, and social enterprises. Through dialogue and experience, students are challenged to imagine beyond what they know or think they might know. The Program provides students the freedom to discover and explore business and service-related opportunities that build confidence and connections. Students interact with business leaders and envision themselves building careers across a range of industries and functions.
The Program also seeks to develop and reinforce a sense of social obligation and community responsibility within the Scholars, which serves as a foundation for their future careers. Through community service activities, exploration of nonprofits, and education about corporate responsibility, the Program helps answer students’ questions about how individuals and businesses can be powerful agents of positive change.
During this process, Scholars from across the globe from diverse backgrounds and life experiences who might never otherwise meet, journey together as part of the Baker community, building lifelong and intergenerational friendships.
