Leigh Baker is a senior at Silver Creek High School in Longmont. She is part of the Silver Creek Leadership Academy that “creates leaders from the ground up,” according to the website. For her senior capstone project, Baker decided to spread joy and awareness of different cultures in the Boulder County community.
Baker titled her capstone project “Diversipiction.” Her work focuses on working with Boulder County groups and events to advertise the event and to add an innovative lens to the project through art, youth involvement or small business, she said.
Baker fits as many cultural events into her schedule as she can such as the Longmont Museum’s first Tamale Fair in November and the Native American Heritage Celebration of Longmont.
During the Dios de los Muertos celebration in Longmont, she added her love for film production to the mix. Baker took footage of the various events and interviewed an array of people from performers to patrons. She is in the process of creating a video of the event, she said.
As an African American student, she sought an internship with Rev. Glenda Strong Robinson — a long-time Longmont resident who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King. Baker was invited to participate in this year’s MLK celebration as a co-facilitator.
In February, she will organize an art exhibit that will gather “Draw the Dragon” art pieces from across SVVSD. She is hoping that students of all ages will take the time to research the Lunar New Year and contribute their interpretation of a dragon in a drawing. The drawings will be entered into a competition on Feb. 24.
“I feel that St. Vrain has very strong artistic cultures … I really wanted to showcase how amazing the kids are at various age levels,” Baker said.
Baker has always loved exploring other cultures. As a young child, she created a poster that invited her community to reach out to her and ask questions. She said no one responded, however, it was the first time she realized her passion.
“I’ve always been very passionate about different cultures and different places, ever since I was a very young child … Every time I travel, I’m very much an observer. I’m a people watcher. I love seeing how people interact,” Baker said.
As she approached her capstone project, she thought her love of other cultures was important to share throughout the growing Longmont and Boulder County communities.
“It’s a melding of my passions as well as I want to permanently impact these events that don’t get a lot of attention as well as the people who attend these events and children who can get involved early,” she said.
Baker is interested in creating a world that continues to grow more connected especially as technology advances. She doesn’t know yet what she wants to do in the future. She is considering international relations, global policies, architecture, marine biology and many other things all with a minor in film and media studies. Baker wants to use film to document her travels and learnings for others.
“I hope to utilize my skills in any capacity going forward and travel and see as much as I can,” she said.
