A graduate student who as an undergraduate received the David Lasseter/Murfreesboro Central High School Class of 1969 Scholarship will receive the scholarship for fall semester 2022 at Middle Tennessee State University.
Sarah Mack Clark, who is working on a master's degree in biology at MTSU, is the daughter of class member Doug Mack and Pamela Pinkerton Mack and the niece of class member Larry Pinkerton.
"I'm glad she applied again," said class member David Lasseter, for whom
the scholarship is named and a member of the scholarship coordinating
committee.
Lasseter organized the class email list and other activities that have kept class members in contact for more than 40 years.
"I think a lot of that talented extended family," Lasseter said.
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 class members Helen Johnson Alford, Tommy Campbell, Jennifer Jordan-Henley, and Judy Anderson Whitehill.
Clark, whose goal is to become a veterinarian, said the $1,000 scholarship will help her to continue her master's work, particularly research that she hopes will help gain admission to veterinary school.
"While I did not get into vet school on my first try, I believe the research experience I am gaining as a graduate student will make my next vet school application more competitive," Clark wrote in her scholarship application.
She said her research work focuses on evolutionary changes of the musculoskeletal system of darters - small, colorful fish that are native to Tennessee.
Clark recalled a 1970s controversy involving a University of Tennessee professor who worked to protect the darters' habitat from destruction and challenged completion of the Tellico Dam. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled in favor of an exception to the federal Endangered Species Act that allowed completion of the dam.
Clark said she will reapply to veterinary school next summer. She is scheduled to complete her master's degree in May 2024. |
As a non-traditional student, Clark noted that she has faced a number of challenges to continue her education [See related article, "Determination..."] |
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Along with being a student, Clark has been a teacher as a graduate student and for her son, Captain, who has just finished his fifth grade homeschool program.
Her husband, Chris, for the past few years have faced the challenge of cancer treatment.
"My husband has recovered well from his cancer treatment and was able to return to work several months ago," Clark said.
Her father, however, has now received a lung cancer diagnosis, and that diagnosis was "a devastating blow to all of us," she said.
Clark in her scholarship application wrote that "these challenging times once again remind me how special it is to have family close by, as we continue to lean on each other's shoulders and give thanks for the time we have together."
"Life is too short to not chase my goals - a lesson I hope my son carries with him as he grows into a young man," she wrote.
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