Catherine Baker
Catherine Baker is from a small town in the Appalachian Mountains. She attended the University of Maryland for her undergraduate studies and received a B.S. in Environmental Politics and Policy, specializing in global water scarcity. She also minored in French Literature and was a leader in in the university’s Language House Immersion Program after returning from six months immersion in Nice, France. She also received the Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship to study Urdu in Lucknow, India. Through a series of service-based fellowships, she completed internships with the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, and U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Institute. Following graduation, Catherine worked at the Foreign Service Institute in the School of Language Studies. Academically, she is particularly interested in the politics of language and the nexus of water and security. Outside of concentrating in Global Politics and Security in Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS), she works as a Foreign Affairs Fellow in the U.S. House of Representatives. Catherine is a Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellow and will become a Foreign Service Officer following her time in MSFS.
"I chose MSFS because it is unparalleled in its ability to prepare me for a diplomatic career. The faculty, courses, and fellow students will teach me an ineffable amount about this world and how our work fits into it. I’m very excited to learn alongside this cohort."