By Lewis Levine, Senior Correspondent

ATLANTA – Dawn Baker’s first career goal was to be a pediatrician.

After serving as a candy striper in Candler Hospital, though, she changed her career path. Her love of English and her love of writing led her to a career in broadcasting, and the Georgia Association of Broadcasters recognized her work by inducting her into the GAB Hall of Fame last month.

“Honestly, I’m still really shocked and overwhelmed,” she said. “When I think about the Hall of Fame, I think of people who changed journalism, like Doug Weathers and Mike Manhatton. It is truly an honor to be here.

“This is beyond my wildest dreams. Who would have ever thought that a little girl from Riceboro would be inducted into the Hall of Fame?”

Baker moved to Savannah from Liberty County before she became a teenager and later attended Howard University. She remembered what her grandfather told her when she told him what she wanted to do.

“He said, ‘Why do you want to go to the fancy university and waste your momma’s money learning how to talk? You’ve been talking since before you were supposed to,’” she said. “My grandparents got to see what I do, which is more than just talking.”

Baker has been in broadcasting for 39 years, the last 38 at WTOC-TV.

“My grandparents, who were not educated, always watched the news,” she said. “I am proud to be here. Being home I got a chance to show a lot of little girls that you don’t have to come from money or status to do this. She was determined we were going to succeed and have a good life. It’s been unbelievable.”

Baker also credited her mother, who become a single mother when Dawn was just 2 years old.

“She was determined we were going to succeed and have a good life,” Baker said. “Being home, I got a chance to show a lot of little girls that you don’t have to come from money or status to do this.”

Baker wrote a book to help young women aspire to leadership positions, “Dawn’s Daughter: Everything A Woman Needs To Know,” in 2011 and in 2015 she started the Dawn’s Daughter Leadership Academy for girls in high school.

“I want to advise young girls to work hard, study hard,” she said. “We are more than just a pretty face. It can be done. Stay focused on what you want to become. There will always be people who question your skills. Don’t let that stop you.”

Baker acknowledged the work has led to her sacrificing some of her personal life and time. She traveled to Africa in 2006 and to Guatemala in 2007 and wants to do more traveling in the future.

“I became married to work,” she said. “There were a lot of things that I missed. I got so used to saying ‘yes.’” Baker was overwhelmed about her induction into the GAB’s Hall of Fame.

“This is the honor of a lifetime,” she said.