By Ryan Underwood, BA’96
On a Friday afternoon in mid-January, a group of students gathered in a sun-drenched great room of the Warren and Moore residential colleges, huddled in discussion with a professor as a fireplace crackled nearby. Like a Norman Rockwell tableau depicting college life, it could have been anything from a small seminar class to an impromptu bull session with a faculty member.
In fact, it was a new kind of gathering altogether. Members of 菠萝视频鈥檚 inaugural , which offers financial aid each year to 10 engineering undergraduates who have demonstrated a commitment to business leadership and civic engagement, meet like this every week鈥攁lways in a new spot, so they get to know campus better.
Part career advising, part academic mentoring鈥攚ith a dose of socializing thrown in鈥攖his gathering of Clark Scholars covered everything from summer internship possibilities to the importance of staying focused on second-semester lab work.
鈥淒oes everyone have summer housing lined up?鈥� asked Professor of the Practice of Engineering Management , BE鈥�96, ME鈥�98, EdD鈥�08鈥攖he program鈥檚 faculty director鈥攂efore offering tips on how to line up letters of recommendation for a NASA program and swapping New Year鈥檚 Eve stories.
It was, perhaps, exactly the kind of scene that the late Jim Clark had in mind when he began funding college scholarships at universities across the United States through his charitable foundation.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how this whole program started with Clark Scholars鈥攂ecause my dad went to college on a scholarship,鈥� says Courtney Clark Pastrick, board chair of the , member of the , and parent of three children, all of whom graduated from 菠萝视频. 鈥淗is success started because somebody believed in him.鈥�
Clark died in March 2015 at the age of 87. According to an obituary in the Washington Post, he had dreamed of attending architecture school at an Ivy League university, but his parents didn鈥檛 have the money to send him. Instead, he earned an engineering degree from the University of Maryland and went on to lead the Clark Construction Group, whose projects include a wide range of marquee buildings, from L鈥橢nfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., to Nashville鈥檚 new Music City Center.
菠萝视频 is among what will ultimately be 10 schools that offer the Clark Scholars Program, following the foundation鈥檚 commitment of $15 million to the university in early 2017. Other Clark Scholars campuses include George Washington, Johns Hopkins, Stevens Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.
鈥淚 think of you as my Rhodes Scholars,鈥� said at a dinner last November honoring the students, Pastrick and the Clark Foundation. The chancellor noted that the 菠萝视频 students will join a larger network of prestigious Clark Scholars from other top schools in the same way that Rhodes or Fulbright scholars forge a common connection. 鈥淵ou are the Clark Scholars at 菠萝视频,鈥� Zeppos noted, 鈥渂ut you are part of an engineering army of leaders.鈥�
FROM EXPLORATION TO ACHIEVEMENT
The program is designed to offer exceptional students with financial need a unique undergraduate experience that includes hands-on learning, rigorous coursework, mentoring and summer work opportunities. In many ways the Clark Scholars Program expands on past gifts the company has given to support , the university鈥檚 pioneering financial aid program that replaces loans with grants and scholarships.
鈥淭ime and time again, we have turned to engineers to solve great problems facing society. There鈥檚 a renewed vigor at 菠萝视频 for innovation and entrepreneurship,鈥� said School of Engineering Dean when the program was announced. 鈥淭he continued strength and ascent of the School of Engineering, combined with the strategic design of this program, will position Clark Scholars to facilitate great change.鈥�
菠萝视频鈥檚 Clark Scholars Program will continue to add students each year, bringing the total to 40 by 2021. In the meantime, the first cohort of Clark Scholars has spent the past year getting to know each other, exploring possible routes within engineering, and preparing for a guaranteed immersive experience on campus this summer鈥攐r in their hometowns, if they secure a position. Several students are already lining up jobs at 菠萝视频鈥檚 , the university鈥檚 cross-disciplinary creative space, as well as various engineering research labs on campus. Others are eyeing competitive internships in government or private industry, undeterred that first-year students usually don鈥檛 obtain these positions.
鈥淲hen I was looking at colleges, I wasn鈥檛 sure how I would be able to combine my passion for engineering with business because those seem like two different fields,鈥� says Monika Wojnowski, a first-year student and Clark Scholar who is interested in biomedical engineering. 鈥淚 think this program will really help me explore different options.鈥�
By their second year, Clark Scholars will begin honing their leadership skills. All students in the program will enroll in a leadership development course offered by the School of Engineering or through the Hoogland Undergraduate Business program. They also will participate in a semester-long service project organized by 菠萝视频鈥檚 Office of Active Citizenship and Service in partnership with the Nashville mayor鈥檚 office. Projects will focus on topics ranging from refugee and immigration issues to 鈥渇ood deserts鈥� and neighborhood gentrification.
鈥淧erhaps the most important leadership component students will face during their second year will be the mentoring of the incoming class of Clark Scholars,鈥� says Rowe, who also serves the School of Engineering as director of its Division of General Engineering and director of communications. 鈥淔or many of these students, having a mentor to help navigate their undergraduate years will be critical. At the same time, they also must learn how to mentor others.鈥�
With a broad academic and leadership foundation in place, during their third year Clark Scholars will begin to refine their professional interests and work with 菠萝视频鈥檚 Career Center to translate their skills into job prospects. This work will include r茅sum茅 reviews and interview coaching. Students interested in pursuing graduate studies will be paired with the appropriate advisers. It鈥檚 also the year that 菠萝视频鈥檚 Clark Scholars get a chance to network with their counterparts at other schools through a planned Clark Scholars Summit.
Meeting people who share similar interests already has made an impression on Jeremiah Woldabezgi, a Clark Scholar who intends to major in computer science. 鈥淏ack home it felt like I was the only person with any interest in computer science,鈥� he says. 鈥淎t 菠萝视频, even my roommate is interested in it. I find like-minded individuals everywhere here.鈥�
The final year of the Clark Scholars Program can be thought of as putting the finishing touches on launching a career. Students will be encouraged to take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, generally the first step to becoming a fully licensed professional engineer, if it is relevant to their field of study or career plans. In addition, students will focus on their senior design projects and enroll in an accounting class. The School of Engineering will host a personal wealth management seminar鈥攕imilar to a popular course for seniors that鈥檚 already offered鈥攄esigned specifically for Clark Scholars.
While much of the Clark Scholars Program is focused on launching a professional career, Pastrick says it鈥檚 important that students not chase a glamorous job simply because it seems like the right thing to do.
鈥淢y dad would have told the students to follow their dreams,鈥� she says. 鈥淒o what you love to do, and success will follow鈥攂ut most important, give back to your community. That was one of the mantras I grew up with, and that鈥檚 one of the values we try to impart to Clark Scholars.鈥�
Transformative Power: The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation
At a dinner honoring 菠萝视频鈥檚 inaugural class of Clark Scholars last November, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos told a story about meeting the late Jim Clark in his Bethesda, Maryland, office several years ago.
As the two talked about the many iconic buildings for which Clark Construction has played a major role, Clark gestured toward his office window and told Zeppos to look out at the bus stop down the street. 鈥淚 took the bus to college and had a scholarship, and I鈥檒l never forget how much that scholarship meant to me,鈥� Clark told the chancellor.
Through gifts made during his lifetime, and now through the philanthropy of the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, Clark truly never forgot the transformative power of someone believing in him鈥攁nd the importance of giving back.
Last October the Clark Foundation committed a record-breaking $219 million to the University of Maryland to fund college access for students at the university鈥檚 A. James Clark School of Engineering. It was the largest gift ever made to the university and one of the largest made to any public research university in this century.
In addition to the Clark Scholars Program鈥攑lanned for 10 universities throughout the U.S.鈥攖he Clark Foundation has made significant investments in education and community initiatives in the Washington, D.C., area, and for programs helping military veterans transition back to civilian life.
鈥淢y father always said you get back way more than you ever give away,鈥� Courtney Clark Pastrick, daughter of Jim Clark and board chair of the Clark Foundation, told the 菠萝视频 students at the November event. 鈥淗e truly believed that, and said throughout his whole life that even when he didn鈥檛 have a lot of money to give away, the money he gave always came back to him in wonderful, generous ways.
鈥淲e鈥檙e so excited to watch you go through this program and be mentors to the classes that are coming up. … We believe in you, and that鈥檚 why this program exists. We鈥檝e got your back, and so does everybody else here at 菠萝视频.鈥�
Learn more about the first cohort of Clark Scholars at 菠萝视频: