{"id":6409,"date":"2021-02-02T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T14:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=6409"},"modified":"2025-06-27T15:29:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T19:29:19","slug":"remembering-patrick-baker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2021\/02\/02\/remembering-patrick-baker\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering the Late Patrick Baker"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Patrick Baker first came to the University of Maine at Presque Isle as a nontraditional student studying health and wellness with the goal of getting a degree in Athletic Training. Barbara Blackstone, dean, College of Professional Programs, remembers what it was like to have Pat in class. \u201cIt was fun to have a student who had some knowledge already in the field of fitness and health. Just his natural way of helping people,\u201d she said. \u201cHe instantly turned into a mentor to younger students, to his own classmates. He just had a way about him from the very beginning that put people at ease and helped people feel comfortable.\u201d In 2008, Pat graduated from UMPI with a degree in athletic training.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Patrick Baker, pictured with his daughter and Hootie.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By 2011, Pat had returned to UMPI to fill the position of Assistant Athletic Trainer. He quickly moved up to Head Athletic Trainer when the previous head left. \u201cWe instantly moved him up because he was ready to do that position,\u201d Barb said. \u201cHe was very skilled at being an athletic trainer and learned the ins and outs of all the administrative roles you have when you\u2019re the head athletic trainer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was during his time serving in this position that he met his dear friend Dan Kane, UMPI\u2019s Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation as well as men\u2019s basketball coach. Dan was visiting UMPI for an interview in April of 2017. \u201cDuring my on-campus visit, I met one-on-one with Pat,\u201d Dan said. \u201cWith just 15 minutes of talking to him, we hit it off right away. What stuck out to me was his knowledge of athletic training and his passion for helping the student athletes and teams achieve success.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It wasn\u2019t long after his start at UMPI that Dan started to see how devoted to his athletes Pat was. \u201cAthletic training is a tough job with long hours. You have to work long weekends and some holidays,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd depending on the time of year it can be a seven-day-a-week job. Pat was there every time for every practice ready to go. In my 14 years of being involved in college athletics, Pat has been the best athletic trainer I have been around. His ability to connect with student athletes was one of the many things that made him perfect for his profession.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Barb shared similar thoughts. \u201cHe was always very concerned about the students\u2019 success,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd in the athletic training program, often times the most important person in the program is the head athletic trainer, because that\u2019s the mentor of your students. That\u2019s the person that\u2019s going to engage them in the day-to-day duties of an athletic trainer, how to learn things and how to do things. So, he was there as a mentor, but he also taught.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Outside of UMPI, Pat was both a friend to many and father to his beloved Zoey. \u201cHis little girl was the light of his life,\u201d Barb said. \u201cThey had a very special relationship.\u201d It wasn\u2019t unusual to see Zoey bopping around the AT room, which some student athletes called \u201cPat\u2019s Spa,\u201d while her Dad worked away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt was so fun to see her come in to visit,\u201d Barb said. Pat would occasionally bring her to sporting events, too, introducing his daughter proudly to everyone he knew or was just meeting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His athletes adored Zoey and could tell how delighted he was to be her father. \u201cHe loved her very much and would do anything for her,\u201d Dan said. \u201cHe set a great example for our student athletes and others on how to be a great parent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pat will be remembered by his laidback, humorous and caring nature. He will especially be remembered for his kind heart. \u201cPat was one of the kindest individuals you will come across,\u201d Dan said. \u201cHe was willing to do anything for anyone at the drop of a hat and he was always there to pick you up in your darkest hour, often with a perfectly timed joke or movie quote.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pat will also be remembered as a legend. \u201cIn our last practice together, Pat hit a half-court shot at the end of practice,\u201d Dan said. \u201cIt was the first time in four years that Pat had made it and his reaction was priceless, as he lifted his arms and gave a yell in triumph.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pat\u2019s department at UMPI hopes to have a plaque placed outside of the AT room in remembrance of his vibrant soul.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Patrick Baker first came to the University of Maine at Presque Isle as a nontraditional student studying health and wellness with the goal of getting a degree in Athletic Training. Barbara Blackstone, dean, College of Professional Programs, remembers what it was like to have Pat in class. \u201cIt was fun to have a student who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8326,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6409\/revisions\/8326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}