« Men’s Soccer 2018

Tommy Clark

School
Western Michigan University
Position
Midfield
Major
B.S. Biomedical Science, B.A. Spanish

Classroom

A redshirt senior this season, Tommy Clark graduated in the spring of 2018 with Summa Cum Laude honors, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical science with a chemistry minor, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, earning a 3.93 grade-point average. While achieving dean’s list honors each semester throughout his collegiate career, Clark was named a Mid-American Conference Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and received a spot on the Academic All-MAC team in 2017, helping Western Michigan earn the MAC Academic Achievement Award for highest team GPA along with a national top-five team GPA.

Excelling in the WMU Spanish program, Clark earned the Premio Alfonso X el Sabio award, the Ruth Y. Kirby Scholarship and the Lori Beth Pattison Scholarship for Literature. As a junior in 2017, Clark was invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa National Academic Honor Society, in which only two percent of juniors are eligible to be invited.

Clark is currently enrolled in the Accelerated Master of Arts in Spanish program at WMU. Upon graduation, he aspires to play professional soccer. In terms of job aspirations outside of soccer, Clark hopes to use his Spanish and science degrees to study the sociolinguistic implications within the healthcare system, looking at the quality of healthcare that is provided to those who do not speak the official language of a country as their first language and the reasoning behind why any disparities exist. He also strives to be able to serve underprivileged/underserved populations.

Character

A leader on and off the soccer pitch, Clark has served as a team captain for both Western Michigan and the Kalamazoo Football Club (a semi-professional team in the National Premier Soccer League) aiding coaches to unify individuals from diverse backgrounds as team members.

Off the field while pursuing his master’s degree, Clark is a graduate assistant, managing the WMU Learning Assistant Program for Student Success Services. He has helped to streamline the program over the past summer and into this fall, implementing software for more in-depth data analysis to oversee the growth of a program that has doubled the number of employees (Learning Assistants) from 35 to 70. The program has helped WMU to increase its 10-year average for retention rates in entry-level classes by up to 19 percent. His duties range from tutoring coursework from chemistry, biology, economics and Spanish while developing dynamic and meaningful relationships with peers to help implement improved studying strategies. Last year he was nominated as a Student Employee of the Year.

Additionally, Clark serves for the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), representing men’s soccer for the associate athletic director, discussing topics related to student-athletes’ well-being.

Community

Clark has remained active in the community throughout his career, volunteering with organizations such as the Special Olympics, soccer camps and his local church. Spending three summers working with the Special Olympics in his home state of Indiana, Clark developed meaningful relationships with the athletes, chaperoning and providing guidance and encouragement at practices and events.

Clark also worked two summers at the University of Notre Dame men’s soccer camp, helping lead training sessions as an assistant coach for the elite summer ID camps while mentoring campers by spending one-on-one time on and off the field.

In addition, Clark is active at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Kalamazoo, participating in Bible studies along with recruiting members and coordinating studies.

Competition

A staple in the Western Michigan lineup, Clark is a senior leader for the Bronco men’s soccer squad. A member of the WMU men’s soccer team since 2016 after transferring from Bradley University, Clark has played in 55 career games as of nomination time, starting in 31 games with 13 career points (1g-11a). As a junior in 2017, Clark had a standout season, helping the Broncos to their most successful season in program history, finishing with a 17-4-1 overall record and undefeated 5-0-0 Mid-American Conference record. WMU won its first-ever MAC regular season title and made an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance after garnering the No. 10 seed and defeating the University at Albany in the second round for WMU’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win. A key factor on Bronco set pieces and corner kicks, the midfielder recorded eight assists and one goal: the game-winner in WMU’s 1-0 win over No. 8 Akron University. For his efforts, Clark received a spot on the United Soccer Coaches Great Lakes All-Region Third Team along with All-MAC First Team recognition.