Newsmakers: Meet A New Teacher, Alicia Clark

September 9, 2013

There have been many changes this school year from the office renovation to gym uniforms. In addition there are new teachers including math teacher Alicia Clark.

Clark graduated from Frankfort Community High School in West Frankfort, Illinois in 2009. She graduated with numerous honors, school athletic records and memories. She has two little brothers, Logan who is 16 and Connor who is nine. Clark is happily engaged and planning a wedding in September. In her free time she enjoys working out, cooking, baking, reading and gardening.

While in high school, Clark was very involved with peer. She just had a way of getting the material across. Peer tutoring brought across her idea of wanting to become a teacher.

Clark graduated from Oakland City University. Clark’s degree allows her to teach math in grades five through 12. At OCU she was named Teacher of the Year for 2013. Clark also graduated with Cum Laude Honors, meaning she had at least a 3.5 GPA.

Her senior year at OCU, Ms. Clark was picked for the “Who’s Who is in Universities” list based on school achievement. Her junior and senior year of college she was named a National Christian College Athletic Association Academic All-American for her achievements in the classroom and on the volleyball court.

“I like the atmosphere of the school. All of the teachers are very welcoming, and all of the students are full of school spirit,” she said.

This is Clark’s first teaching job and she is teaching Algebra I and II. Some challenges she faces being a teacher is being able to find new fun ways to teach math and making it easier to understand. She wants all of her students to reach their full potential. Things that come easy for Ms. Clark are being able to connect with all of her students and creating relationships with all of them.

Clark’s future career goals include teaching and eventually moving out of the classroom into administration.

Clark is very involved in the PHS volleyball program. She has been playing volleyball competitively for ten years.

In high school her team won two conference championships and also two regional championships. Clark was named to numerous All-Tournament, All-South and All-Conference teams. She was also named the Offensive Player of the Year for three years in a row and also her team’s MVP her senior year. She also set the school record for most kills in a match with 23.

At Oakland City, she continued her volleyball career through college. Clark’s freshman class was the best recruiting class in school history. Her team placed fifth in the national tournament. She was named Offensive Player of the Year for three years in a row.

“No matter how many awards I or my team received, I will never forget the memories with my teams. They were the best years of my life,” she said.

Her favorite part of coaching is being able to see the game from a different perspective.

“I have such a love and passion for volleyball, and I really want to pass it on to them. The sky’s the limit for this team. As long as they play to have fun and love what they are doing, no one can tell us that we can’t,” said Clark.