Baker is careful about bringing up his past with his students, but he did so last month with Tyshay Washington, an 18-year-old high school senior, who was having trouble balancing her ongoing relationship with Christianity with Baker's desire to try to increase the size of the class — a dynamic that Washington feared would upset the chemistry in the room. Baker listened carefully and said that once he embraced Christ, he learned to love everyone, even those who crossed him. Though Washington didn't seem to grasp what he was saying at the time, Baker wasn't bothered. He patiently listened, gently guiding her toward other solutions. Several days later, Washington said the message had sunk in. She said that Baker's openness about his own past made his voice seem more authentic and easier to accept. "He's very genuine," she said. "He cares about us and wants our faith in God to grow. It's good to have someone like that who went through so many traumatic things in their life to have someone to look up to. It's inspiring in a way because he was able to choose a different path when things weren't going his way."