This is Dr. Carolyn Clark’s first year teaching French at WJ, but she certainly is no outsider to the community. Her three kids, all WJ alumni, advocated for WJ and encouraged her to teach here. Clark grew up in Ithaca, N.Y.
“I started when I was very young, teaching my stuffed animals… also, my father is a professor and my mother is a high school teacher,” said Clark.
After taking a gap year, Clark continued to develop her passion for teaching at Cornell University, majoring in Classical Civilizations, and went on to receive her doctorate in Classics from Johns Hopkins University in 1998.
“I wanted to finish something I started,” Clark said. “I was in a master’s program at Brown University. When I left in [1983] I got married [and] had a family and I wanted to finish the Ph.D. in Classics.”
Although many may find it impressive, having a doctorate sometimes can be troubling for Clark.
“When you apply for things, sometimes they say you’re overqualified,” she said.
Clark has been teaching for 28 years, first starting out in colleges and universities as an adjunct professor and then simultaneously teaching high school in 2000.
Outside of school, Clark enjoys horseback riding, skiing and reading classical mythology.
