MiddBrief Aylie Baker '09 awarded prestigious Watson FellowshipAylie Baker '09 awarded prestigious Watson Fellowship

Author: Jaime Fuller

Aylie Baker '09 has been awarded a Watson Fellowship for the 2009-2010 year. Her project is titled "Voices for the Future: Using Islanders' Stories for Civic Engagement," and explores the use of audio storytelling to build community and create a dialogue about sustainability on islands, while utilizing a more civic form of journalism. She will visit the Maldives, the Canaries, the Chiloe Archipelago and Palau. Baker noted in her project proposal, available on the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Web site, that audio storytelling has the ability to bypass stereotypes propagated by romantic renderings of island communities as presented by most media.

"Audio narratives disarm prejudice by rendering the listener blind," Baker wrote. "Stripped of physical attributes, stories become portals into the lives of others."

Growing up in Maine, Baker was always aware of islands and the changes that they have been undergoing in recent years. She hopes to bring the knowledge she gathers back to her home state to contribute to solving issues faced by island and coastal communities.

The 2009-2010 Watson fellows were announced March 15, and included 40 graduating students in the Class of 2009. The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program's mission is to "offer college graduates of unusual promise a year of independent, purposeful exploration and travel outside of the United States in order to enhance their capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership and to foster their humane and effective participation in the world community."

"I've had a tremendous support network throughout this process," said Baker. "I need to thank Karen Guttentag, Sue Halpern and John Elder for their mentorship, among many others."