Dillon Baker, a second-year residential student in the Information School’s Master of Library and Information Science program, was among the 20 students recently awarded Spectrum Scholarships, the American Library Association announced.

Baker is a lifelong Seattle resident who said she is interested in going into public librarianship, with a focus on teen services.

“I am passionate about inclusivity and racial equity in libraries, and recently have been learning more about trauma-informed librarianship,” said Baker, who works at UW Libraries as an assessment and planning student specialist and has experience working as a case manager in the foster care system. “I loved working with that age range and I am hopeful I will be able to transition those skills into teen librarianship.” 

Spectrum Scholarships are typically awarded over the summer, but the ALA received a $170,000 gift from an anonymous donor to provide additional scholarships to the 2020-21 cohort.

Baker joins three other iSchool students as recipients of Spectrum Scholarships this academic year. Lex Barlowe, Jacqui Howell and Alice Pérez Ververa were among the 61 winners announced by the ALA this past summer.

The Spectrum Scholarship Program recruits and provides scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern and North African, and/or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students to assist them with obtaining a graduate degree and leadership positions within the profession and ALA. The aim is to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse professionals in the field of library and information science.