When Kelly Clark finished high school, she thought she was done with her education.
Too much time spent on dead-end jobs helped her realize her ambitions surpassed her resume and it was time for change.
“I had been out of high school for a really long time, and I knew I wanted to progress in my career, and I knew I needed my degree to do that,” she said.
Now Clark is a standout student pursuing a B.S. in Business Administration, with a concentration in accounting, at The University of Baltimore. Since enrolling in her first college courses, she accepted a position managing grants and contracts. She hopes to work her way up to an internal auditor role, earn a master’s degree and become a certified public accountant.
“I feel like I can conquer anything,” Clark said. “I feel that my resilience has increased, my perspective has changed about a lot of things in life. I’m happy with where I am, but still look forward to where I’m going.”
Clark is confident that her experience at UBalt will get her to her dream career, but her path wasn’t always so clear.
Back when Clark first committed to a college plan, the COVID-19 pandemic forced her into online classes she wasn’t anticipating, and fears of failure started to creep back in. The abrupt change turned out to be an opportunity for Clark to excel where she least expected to.
“I weathered the storm, and to my surprise, my grades were awesome, and I was handling my work-life balance and my children,” she said.
Community college boosted Clark’s confidence enough that she applied to transfer to UBalt.
Clark wanted to be part of an institution where she could find support from faculty and her peers. She ended up choosing UBalt initially because the campus is close to her Baltimore home.
She soon discovered how much more was waiting for her here.
“It has proved to be so much more than just convenient,” Clark said. “I really feel like I’m a part of a community here. I feel so supported. I feel acknowledged and seen.”
Clark found her community quickly, starting in the classroom where she met Dr. Jan Williams. The accounting professor lauded Clark’s work and encouraged her toward the accounting concentration. That led Clark to more classes in the subject and later the honors society for accounting students, Beta Alpha Psi.
“It’s a great way to network,” Clark said. “And that first meeting, I was blown away, and [Williams] invited me to Back to UBalt night, which consists of a panel of alumni who majored in accounting and have gone on to have successful careers in either private or public accounting. That was just added motivation for me.”
Clark has found more support outside of the Merrick School of Business. At the Robert L. Bogomolny Library, she lauded the tutoring, life coaching and Microsoft Excel and writing workshops.
“There’s just so much that UBalt offers that helps you be successful,” she said. “It’s like UBalt is taking you by your hand and telling you, ‘Look, I know this is hard, this is challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone.’ You’ve got help. They want you to be successful, and that’s what I feel all of the time.”
While Clark’s decision to go to college was initially rooted in fear, her success so far paired with others’ encouragement has helped her see she’s right where she belongs.
“My pursuit is rewarding me already in my professional life, and it’s just immeasurable. I feel it was just wonderful to be seen, to be part of the UBalt community,” she said. “I’m getting teary eyed because higher education wasn’t really encouraged in my household. I did so well in grade school and middle school and high school, but I was never encouraged to pursue a degree in higher education, and I wish that I would have started on this journey sooner.”
The silver lining of waiting for the first-generation college student has been showing her children how sacrifices pay off.
“I share the highs and the lows, so they will be well aware of what their journey could look like when they pursue their education,” Clark said.