Gen. Wesley Clark Visits with 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Donaghey Scholars
Gen. Wesley K. Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, visited the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Feb. 28 to give some background on current political topics and advice to some of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 most promising students.
The Little Rock native visited as a special guest speaker to students in the Donaghey Scholars Honors Program, the university鈥檚 top honors program that provides free tuition, fees, room and board, a computer, and a study abroad trip for students selected for the program. Donaghey Scholars participate in an interdisciplinary curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking through the reading of primary texts, writing, and discussion.
Gen. Clark spoke to more than 50 Donaghey Scholars. The visit was connected to a special course taught by Dr. Jessica Scott, associate director of the Donaghey Scholars, and Dr. Ren茅 Shroat-Lewis, associate professor of geology, that focuses on energy policy and sustainability. He discussed the war in Ukraine and the geopolitical impact of the sanctions on Russia, especially in the field of energy.
鈥淚 am so grateful that the students had this opportunity,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淕eneral Clark has had an incredible career and is still an active part of shaping world events through his consulting work. I also cannot stress enough how much it matters to our students to see that someone with General Clark’s career graduated from high school right here in Little Rock. It is important for them to see how far they can go if they also strive for excellence in everything they do.鈥�
Junior Lamar Townsend, a double major in political science and finance/real estate, said he learned a lot from the general鈥檚 visit.
鈥淚t was a good perspective from someone who鈥檚 been in the field for so long, and it was a unique perspective to hear,鈥� Townsend said. 鈥淭he most interesting part of Gen. Clark鈥檚 visit was hearing about the history of America鈥檚 influence on foreign relations.鈥�
While Yvonne Rodriquez, a double major in sociology and political science, found Gen. Clark鈥檚 take on current political topics 鈥渆ye opening,鈥� her favorite part of the general鈥檚 talk was his three principles for how to approach life.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to approach life with three principles,鈥� Gen. Clark said. 鈥淒o the best you can do with what you鈥檙e doing and go into it like your life depends on it. The second thing you鈥檝e got to be is humble. The third thing you have to have is gratitude.鈥�
鈥淚t was very inspiring that he said that our generation is the one who will change things for the future, and he told us about the three things we need to do to succeed in life,鈥� Rodriquez said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I took away as very inspiring.鈥�
Following his talk, Gen. Clark spent an hour visiting with students who wanted to learn more. Scott said Gen. Clark鈥檚 visit was all the students could talk about during class the next day.
鈥淪ome of the things they talked about included how he stressed the importance of making an impact and creating the world they want to live in, starting in their own communities,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淭hey also appreciated how he made them 鈥榮ee the whole board鈥� when it comes to geopolitics and better understand the many factors that have to be considered in countries to get involved in disputes. They said it helped them to understand what is happening in Ukraine with greater depth. Several of them also mentioned how much they appreciated his warmth and interest in them.鈥�