Baker: Donors mean more than they know

Chelsea Baker, 19, says even donors don’t realize the importance of their generosity.

“We (Oklahoma State University students) can tell donors ‘thank you’ hundreds of times, but I don’t think they can realize how much of a difference it makes,” said the biochemistry and molecular biology freshman. “For a person on scholarship, it means so much to have that little extra money. It’s so nice to know you’ve gotten something.”

The Putnam City North graduate receives $2,200 per year as the Michael D. and Judith A. Johnson President’s Distinguished Scholar. The Johnsons’ endowment helps Baker attend OSU without working or taking out student loans.

“(Scholarships) allow me to go for my degree without having to worry so much about the money,” Baker said. “I can concentrate more on school instead of worrying about how I’m going to pay for school or how I’m going to get it all done.”

Baker is especially grateful that she does not have to incur debt, as that is something that would “always be in my way and I’d always see it and I know that would make me paranoid.”

After graduating, Baker is considering attending medical school or pursuing a career in research.

“I just like learning things and discovering things,” she added. “With science, I feel like I can always learn more and there’s always more out there to discover.”

Baker is the youngest of three children. Her sister, Angela, graduated from OSU. Baker chose OSU after many visits to her sister, seeing the “comfortable, open and welcome” community in Stillwater. Their brother, Andrew, is also in college.

“My parents are pretty much paying for all of it,” Baker said. “If it wasn’t for scholarships, it would be a lot more difficult, a lot tighter.”

Fortunately, Baker has a President’s Distinguished Scholarship, one of OSU’s most highly desired undergraduate scholarships. The four-year scholarship funds tuition and books for aspiring scholars. Students are selected based on exemplary academic, leadership and community accomplishments.

It is fitting the Johnsons endowed the scholarship considering they have displayed those qualities. Mike is a 1966 accounting graduate who is a state senator and president and general manager of Johnson’s of Kingfisher, an auto dealership. Judy is a 1967 accounting graduate and serves as treasurer for the family business. She is also a trustee of the OSU Foundation, an executive board member of the OSU Alumni Association and serves on boards for the Red Cross and Youth and Family Services of Canadian, Kingfisher and Blaine Counties.