Meredith Clark received a huge honor during Central Michigan University’s Homecoming Week.
The 2007 Clarkston High School graduate was named Gold Ambassador, which is the equivalent of Homecoming Queen at the university.
“It was super exciting,” Clark said. “The whole week was exciting to participate in the homecoming festivities each night at different residency halls and student organizations. It was really rewarding experience.”
Clark, a senior, begun the three step process during the summer. First she was nominated by First Book, a non-profit organization where she is president.
“We promote literacy for under privileged children by providing kids with their first book,” she added.
She started the organization at CMU based on the non-profit organization with the same name.
“I was involved with the Michigan Education Association and we wanted to start promoting literacy by making our own advisory board at Central,” Clark said.
The next step to becoming Gold Ambassador included filling out an application, writing essays and getting faculty recommendations.
From there the nominees are narrowed down to 10 females and 10 males. Then, they are interviewed and give a presentation before being narrowed down the Homecoming Courty – five females and five males. The final decision is made through a campus vote for the Homecoming Gold Ambassadors.
Clark and Alan Jones, from Detroit, were named as the ambassadors on during the Chippewa Rock Rally on Oct. 14, the night before CMU played Eastern Michigan University in their Homecoming game.
Clark added she decided to go for it because she thought it was a good opportunity to represent CMU.
“I wanted to give back to the school that has given me so much,” she said.
As a Gold Ambassador and the representarion of the university, she spoke to alumni at Homecoming as well as talk to stafff and students during Homecoming Week.
She will also work with community service project, serve on the scholarship scouting committee and speak at different alumni events throughout the year.
She also volunteers for CMU’s alternative breaks program and on the next trip is going to South Carolina. She is also a mentor to a fourth grader through Lunch Buddies, a mentor program through CMU.
Clark is studying Elementary Education and Language Arts and will be back in her hometown when she begins her student teaching at Springfield Plains Elementary.
She graduates in May.