As a Miami native, Christopher Clarke could not have been prouder than on commencement day when he received his Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Miami School of Education and Human Development. He also served as a student speaker at the ceremony, where he delivered a powerful and heartfelt speech sharing his personal journey and his family’s sacrifices that led him to where he is today.
Clarke, a first-generation Caribbean-American college graduate, said that he feels fortunate to be graduating because his own paternal grandparents, Leroy and Virginia Clarke, served as indentured servants, cleaning house and doing landscaping for residents near the Coral Gables Campus. Their struggle extended to his own father, who sacrificed his own education to support his family, and Clarke had the opportunity to attend Concordia University Wisconsin where he earned a double major in educational studies and justice and public policy with a minor in health education. He then went on to earn a Master of Public Administration degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago before pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Miami.
Today, as director of UM’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA), Clarke is living his dream by supporting students on their path to graduation, and it is no surprise he focused his dissertation on aiding minority students: Perceptions of Inclusive Leadership for Minoritized Gen Z College Students.
To ensure that other minority students like himself have a chance to pursue higher education, Clarke announced that he and his wife, Caryn, established the Clarke Family Student Support Endowment in honor of his late grandparents. The endowment will provide need-based financial support for both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Miami that are actively involved in leadership and/or multicultural activities.
“It took [me] 20 years to find my purpose, but on this day, my grandparents’ legacy will be forever linked to the City of Coral Gables and the University of Miami,” Clarke said.
“Part of my purpose is being fulfilled by standing here today as Dr. Christopher Allen Clarke. The other parts of my purpose are to honor my family, to take pride in the work I do, to recognize the privilege I carry, and to not let their sacrifices go in vain,” Clarke told the more than 650 graduates.
