Auburn alumna’s legacy to support future child life specialists through endowed scholarship

As Charlotte Baker’s family took a stroll through Auburn’s campus on Saturday, Feb. 21 prior to Auburn men’s basketball’s big matchup against Kentucky, it was met with some sadness, but also plenty of hope and joy knowing that Charlotte Baker’s legacy will continue to live on at a place she always loved.

That Saturday was the first time Charlotte Baker’s parents Lisa and Mark Baker; her sister Zoe and brother-in-law Wesley returned to Auburn’s campus since losing Charlotte last Christmas day after her courageous battle with brain cancer.

A 2022 Auburn alumna who received her Bachelor of Science in child life from the Department of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Human Sciences, Charlotte felt right at home the moment she stepped foot on Auburn’s campus.

While Charlotte loved Auburn athletics, including attending basketball games with her dad, her main passion to care for children and families going through tough and uncertain times led to her wanting to pursue a child life specialist degree in the College of Human Sciences.

“Charlotte actually didn't even know about the profession of child life until her brain cancer diagnosis in high school so that diagnosis really changed her whole career trajectory, and she just knew that she wanted to help other kids that were going through scary times and she did that,” said Lisa Baker.

During her time as a student, Charlotte took advantage of every moment. She worked at the Auburn Early Learning Center, she was active in Tri Sigma Sorority, served as a Pi Chi during recruitment and participated in the Oaks Retreat. In addition, she also made time to volunteer with one of her favorite organizations, Smile-A-Mile, when she was back in Birmingham.

Although Charlotte’s life was cut short at 26-years-old due to brain cancer, her legacy will continue as the Baker family established the Charlotte C. Baker Endowed Scholarship to help future Auburn students wishing to pursue a degree in child life.

Once completing her degree at Auburn, Charlotte was prepared to take on the real world and did so working as a certified child life specialist providing emotional support to hospitalized children and families on their healing journey at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

“I think the foundation and the education that Auburn gave her was just top notch,” said Lisa Baker. “She was fully prepared to do the work that she was doing. She was very supported and talked about how much she loved her professors and it seemed like it was a really great community for her — the College of Human Sciences and the child life program.”

When asked what advice do you think Charlotte would give to students starting their college journey if she were alive today, Lisa Baker said it would be to take advantage of every opportunity.

“I think she would probably tell incoming students that college is hard, but take advantage of every opportunity that you have, and it will pay off,” said Lisa Baker. “Child life is a really tough job, and a lot of people may think it’s just playing with kids, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. You're helping them through some very, very scary times, and you're there for the family, and you show up all the time, and that's what Charlotte did. We had families reaching out to us after they heard that she had passed and just had amazing stories of how she was there for families and how she showed up. I think that’s what you want as a parent, you want to hear those stories. I think she would tell students to just take advantage of college and the opportunities.”

Making a return visit to Auburn to take part in Auburn’s annual AUTLIVE game, Auburn basketball’s fight against cancer, the Baker family spent that special Saturday visiting Charlotte’s favorite spots on campus, having dinner downtown and concluding with watching Auburn get a thrilling 75-74 last second victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. Capping off the special weekend, Lisa brought a photo album book from Charlotte’s celebration of life service down to the floor following the game where Bruce Pearl signed it in honor of Charlotte.