Sierra Clark ’16
Class Year
2016
Area(s) of Study
Business Communication
Co-curricular
Dance Team Resident Assistant Economics Tutor President of United Black Association Omicron Delta Kappa Black Women United Kappa Alpha Theta Student Government Tusitala First Connection peer mentor
Sierra Clark ’16 loved Lake Forest College from the first time she visited as a summer teen camper in the Just the Beginning Foundation program in Chicago.
An involved athlete in high school, the business and communication double-major chose a different path once enrolled at Lake Forest. With just a few weeks left before she graduates, Clark is a Forester you should know.
Q: What drew you to Lake Forest College?
A. “I loved the campus. It was quaint and quiet. I loved the scenery. When my high school announced ‘King Goes to College Day’ on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I chose to come back to Lake Forest to do a more personal tour to see if it would fit for me. It has a small student-to-teacher ratio, which was just like my high school. I love being in a small classroom, because I knew I would get to know my professors better, which would help me with networking and having real mentors.”
Q: Have you had experiences here—besides your classes—that have helped prepare you for your future?
A: “I was a macroeconomics tutor for Professor Tuttle and I was her research assistant, where we worked on the CAFTA-DR Trade agreement. I did all the analytical research. We presented those findings at the Costa Rica AmLet—a professional conference. And I’ve had three internships—only one for-credit. I interned at Red Communications as a marketing intern, at The Viti Companies in insurance, and at Fuksa Khorshid, a law firm, helping promote events and panels.”
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: “I’ve been in a lot of organizations: Dance Team, I’m an RA, I’m in United Black Association—I’m president now—where I’ve done a lot of volunteering with the Boys and Girls Club of Lake County mentoring kids. I’m in Omicron Delta Kappa, Black Women United, Kappa Alpha Theta, and I was in Student Government, Tusitala, and First Connection, where I was a peer mentor. There are a vast amount of opportunities and experiences here.”
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: “I’m interviewing for a managerial executive position with a large retailer, I’m also looking into human resource generalist positions because of my RA experience, Teach for America has offered me a job teaching math in Detroit, North Carolina, or Louisiana. I’m not sure, yet, but I know I’d like to get my master’s, eventually.
Q: Any advice?
A: “I tell people all the time to do study abroad and the In The Loop program. I was waiting for my friends to do it, then I didn’t have time in my schedule. My advice: Don’t wait for your friends. Just do it.”
Q: Parting words?
A: “I’m going to miss this place. It was just phenomenal.”