Don Clark Tu '73, the mission director of the U.S. Agency for International Development in Nepal, discussed his life and work with 36 students to kick off year three of Career Services' "Careers for the Common Good" initiative, last Thursday. Clark's "career conversation" was the first of three luncheons and dinners this term that will provide undergraduates with the opportunity to hear from alumni who have pursued "values-driven work" after college.
Clark currently lives in Nepal where he oversees the implementation of anti-corruption and anti-trafficking programs that teach Nepalese citizens about democracy, governance and economic opportunity. During his speech, he told the crowd about the rewards of his job.
"If you make a little bit of progress in a place as desperately poor as Nepal, the contribution is significant," he said.
Clark stressed that it was his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa that ignited his passion for development work, and he highly recommended the experience.
"If you are interested in branching out in the world, [you should] travel, speak other languages and get experience working for an NGO or the Peace Corps," Clark advised. "It's a great way to see if this work is for you," he added.
After graduating from college, Clark deferred his acceptance to Tuck for two years while he worked with the Peace Corps in a small village in Burkina-Faso. When he returned to America, he enrolled at Tuck where his experiences with the Peace Corps set him apart from his classmates.
"I somehow was a fish out of water, where most kids wanted to go to Wall Street or be the chairman of the board of IBM," he said. "I was the only one in my class interested in going into the public sector, but the experience was a good one. An MBA can also be seen as a degree in problem solving which is an applicable set of skills to have for any profession."
Jessica Kramer '07 attended the discussion and found his advice helpful for a senior planning to pursue socially responsible work.
"It was interesting to see how someone could put to use an MBA in the public realm, especially in nonprofit development work," she said.
