By: Supriya Sachdeva
How many times a day do you walk through the school library? Think about it for a second. Well, it’s probably at least once or twice, whether you need to print something out, borrow a chromebook, or, on the rare occasion, even borrow an actual book. Right there sitting behind the help desk surrounded by chromebooks, chargers and most of the time a lot of frustrated students, Mr. Christopher Baker is the reason our Wi-Fi connects, our devices work, and our school stays calm during a technical catastrophe.
Mr. Baker started his journey in tech from a really young age. He said, “As a very young teenager, my father worked for IBM, and he would bring home computers and say, ‘Here you go, figure it out.’ And so I was just always that computer kid back in the 80s when very few kids were computer kids. So when I was in middle school and high school, I was, you know, president of the computer club and I would always help everybody with their ID issues.” Even as a teenager, Mr. Baker’s first goal was to help people. Understanding that technology has only gotten more complicated from when he was a kid, he carries this same goal to this day. “IT issues are very frustrating and they’re much more frustrating when you don’t have any support, when you’re just stuck and don’t know what to do. So I like being the person that gets everybody unstuck,” said Mr. Baker.
Throughout his 27 years working with the Syosset School District, Mr. Baker went through a lot, both at home and in his career. 15 years ago, on a day that’s supposed to be filled with joy and happiness, unwrapping gifts and lighting up trees, Mr. Baker received news that no person could ever imagine dealing with. “On Christmas Day, 2010, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer,” said Mr. Baker. To this day, Mr. Baker carries the lessons he learned from this life changing experience. He said, “I will tell you, I’m very fortunate to have very good health insurance through Syosset schools, and I was able to…have surgery to remove a cancerous tumor out of my kidney.” He wants to emphasize that life is about prioritizing the important things and that even if you feel like there is no end to the suffering, “you have to have a long view. I learned that. You have to see that there will be a beyond this time, that this is a struggle. I don’t know how I’m going to get out of it or how I see the end of it, but there is an after time and there will be a time when you will look back and hopefully learn to be stronger from it,” said Mr. Baker.
Outside of school, Mr. Baker leads a life as anything but the average Joe. He started his very own home robotics team that participated in the FIRST program. Mr. Baker said, “In 2013, I discovered First Tech Challenge and First Lego League; my own children were at home, when I lived in Seaford, they were 9 and 11, and we decided since our school district didn’t have robotics, we would start our own home team. So we did a home team, First Lego League, and then First Tech Challenge for nine years.” Now that his children are older, he still participates in the FIRST program by taking a coaching position on the Syosset High School’s robotics teams. Not only does he spend his time in robotics but he also enjoys and relishes his passion for the outdoors. Mr. Baker said, “I love to go canoeing. I love to go out into the woods. It’s pack a several days worth of food and camping gear and ten sleeping bags, push off into a lake, and not come back for a few days, go camp out in the woods with friends.”
Cancer Survivor, Robotics Coach, Outdoor Enthusiast; it’s quite obvious that Help Desk technician isn’t the only title Mr. Baker proudly holds.
