Non-traditional student perseveres to work toward life goal
Sarah Mack Clark |
Determination...
Sarah Mack Clark will join hundreds of students at Middle Tennessee State University in May when she receives an undergraduate degree; hers will be a Bachelor of Science in the physiology concentration of biology.
That achievement will be the culmination of 20 years of effort and dealing with challenges ranging from being a non-traditional student to her husband's cancer diagnosis and treatment to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
"I have been determined to not let anything stop me from finishing my degree, and after all of this, I will have even more reason to celebrate my graduation in May," said Clark, who is the recipient of the David Lasseter/Murfreesboro Central High School Class of 1969 Scholarship at MTSU for spring semester 2021.
"I believe that she is most deserving of the scholarship," said Judy Anderson Whitehill, a member of the Lasseter Scholarship coordinating committee.
The coordinating committee voted to award a $1,600 scholarship to Clark for the semester that will be her last as an undergraduate at MTSU.
"I feel she is the perfect candidate for the scholarship," said David Lasseter, whom the scholarship honors, "and we are happy to help her fulfill her dreams." Lasseter, who also serves on the coordinating committee, organized the class email list and other activities that have kept class members in contact for more than 30 years.
Since 2004, Lasseter Scholarships, supported with proceeds from fundraising activities, have gone to relatives of members of the MCHS Class of 1969. Also serving on the coordinating committee are Helen Johnson Alford, Tommy Campbell, and Jennifer Jordan-Henley.
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Clark is related to two class members. She is the daughter of class member Doug Mack and Pamela Pinkerton Mack and the niece of class member Larry Pinkerton.
"She's a terrific candidate who has chosen a tough field," said Jordan-Henley. "Her interest in becoming a veterinarian requires determination, and she has what it takes."
Clark said, "I always dreamed of being a veterinarian. I have a lifelong passion for animals, especially horses."
Clark, who is 38, acknowledges, however, that after she graduated from Riverdale High School in 2000 she did not fully apply herself to her university studies as a business and finance major at MTSU. She was enrolled only one semester.
Clark said she could not see the reason for taking some required classes.
"Now it's easier for me to see the bigger picture," she said. "It's a total different experience for me going back as an older student."
Clark decided after ending her first MTSU studies to go to barber school, and when she completed that study, she worked full time at her mother's salon, Top of the Block, for 17 years.
During that time she would return to MTSU to take classes and even was enrolled full time for one school year. "Returning to school after a long break is not easy," she said.
Clark, however, retained the goal of eventually becoming a veterinarian.
"While being a hair stylist allowed me the time for riding and keeping horses, I never felt fulfilled," she said. "But change is hard, and it took me several years to take the leap and commit to school."
During those years, she had married, and she and her husband, Chris, have a son, Captain.
"When I finally re-enrolled at MTSU, my son was 7 years old," she said. "I wanted to show my son that it was never too late to make a big change in life.
"I never wanted to feel stuck the way I had been feeling." |
The family decided to sell their farm and some of their horses.
"This put me in excellent position to quit my full-time job and focus exclusively on school," Clark` said. "Things were really falling into place."
| "Despite all the struggles we have faced in the last year, my family has been thankful for the time together." |
Then her husband received a cancer diagnosis.
The cancer was treatable, but that treatment involved hospitalization, surgery, and months of chemotherapy.
As her husband's cancer treatment was ending, however, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Tennessee.
"It was such a scary time, knowing that his body was already taking such a toll from the chemo, but still having to face possible exposure so that he could complete treatment," Clark said.
After the cancer treatment was complete, another hurdle arose when they found out that her husband's company was downsizing. Chris Clark, who works in marketing, still is seeking new employment
"Despite all the struggles we have faced in the last year, my family has been thankful for the time together," Sarah Mack Clark said. "We have been home schooling our son (now 10), and many of my classes this semester were remote."
Clark, an A student, will return to MTSU in the fall for graduate studies in physiology.
Clark wants to attend veterinary school at the University of Tennessee, but she did not gain admission during its most recent review of applications.
She plans to keep trying.
Clark noted that the Lasseter Scholarship will be particularly helpful because she cannot use student loans to pay for all of the classes she needs to prepare for her veterinary studies since they are not required for her specific concentration.
While Clark is committed to veterinary study, she doubts that she ever will be a practicing veterinarian.
"I plan to do research," she said.
Clark is determined about that goal.
"I'll make it happen."
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