Home » 2022-23 Student Ambassadors
Category Archives: 2022-23 Student Ambassadors
The Diversity Center
Hello, wonderful people at Clark College!
I’m going to talk about the Diversity Center, one of my favorite places on campus. The diversity center has been my personal staple at Clark College since first starting here back in 2016. Back then, they had a completely different (yet still amazing) staff, and their office wasn’t as cool as it is now. I am a queer black person, and so it was hard to find for me to find people to connect with and that get a lot of the same struggles I faced, both as a college student and in my personal life. Since coming back to Clark College, I made sure that I reconnected with that resource and the staff. They host luncheons, events, and get togethers with students and staff. Some of the clubs/luncheons include: the Queer student club (a.k.a the Queer Agenda, a queer club we have here on campus), BSU Luncheon (The Black Student Union), Multicultural Student Luncheon, and Disabilities Student Luncheons. I highly recommend anyone that doesn’t know where to find people or is having a hard time connecting with their peers to check out one of these events.
The Diversity Center is an important resource for any student, no matter your gender identity/expression, race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, and/or sexual orientation. The best thing about their offices is that they are connected to almost every other office on campus, whether that’s disability support services, international programs, financial aid, etc. If you are having a problem on campus, or something is going wrong, or anything that can come up as a student, they are there to help you. The staff they currently have (Alyssa, Vanessa, Nicole, Dee, Rosalba, and Mike) are amazing and are always ready to help students. The staff work hard with community outreach such as, Noche De Familia, a Spanish-speaking event for families to come and learn more about college and the resources we have. They even go out of the city like an event I attended up in Renton, Washington with Nicole and Dee along with another student, so we can get connected with HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and different colleges in the Pacific Northwest.
If you’re looking for help in any aspect of your life, whether that’s work-life balance, work-student balance, life-student balance, the Diversity Center has Student Success Coaches there that can be able to help. I personally see Lana, who works with students who are pursuing arts or communication degrees. We talk about how I can be a better student, how to organize my life so I’m not as scattered brain all the time, and working on better habits to improve my accountability. I absolutely love working with these coaches, the others include Jill (who specializes in S.T.E.M.) and Katia (who specializes with Business and Management). Each of them is unique in how they approach problems that students are having with solutions that positively impact a student’s life.
I recommend the Diversity Center not just for the points that I outlined, but for the reason of “what’s the worst that can happen.” This is an office meant for students to come, connect, and grab help when they need it. Take advantage of every situation and resource we have here at Clark College, and if you have questions, start with the Diversity Center and they’ll help you from there.
Meet Ambassador Tomas
Hello everyone! My name is Tomas Naujokas (he/him), and I am one of your Student Ambassadors for the 2022-2023 school year. I’ve lived in Washington my entire life and absolutely love the PNW. When it’s not raining, you can usually catch me out on the many amazing hiking trails that we have in the area or out and about on my bike. Even though I am generally against the beach as a place to vacation, some of my favorite rides have happened along the Oregon coast.
While I was born and raised in the PNW, my roots take me to a tiny country in Europe with a population less than Portland, OR, and one that most haven’t even heard of, Lithuania. At home, I speak fluent Lithuanian with my family, one of the oldest living languages in the world that is quickly disappearing. Trying to maintain the Lithuanian culture, I frequently volunteer at the Portland Lithuanian-American Community, and I’ve even been known to practice traditional Lithuanian Folk Dance. I try to visit my relatives in Lithuania as often as I can and I will be making a trip out there this Summer. To the few who will understand, labas ir viso gero.
This marks my second year at Clark College, and I am currently pursuing Clark’s degree in nursing. Growing up as my mom worked as a CNA at the Peace Health Hospital off of Mill Plain, my fascination with the medical field quickly flourished. I also knew early on that helping people is what truly made me content so nursing quickly became the goal I set for myself. As I discovered my love for travel and exploration, I found that Travel Nursing offers everything that I’ve ever wanted in a career. I will be applying to Clark’s program this Spring and it’s only forward from there.
But until then, feel free to flag me down if you ever see me roaming around campus and I’ll surely say hello. I am honored to be one of your Student Ambassadors, let’s make it a great year!
Meet Ambassador Mary
Hello everyone!
My name is Mary (she/her), and I am one of the new student ambassadors! This will be the start of my second year at Clark. I previously had a year and a half at WSU, but after a year break due to COVID, I decided to go to Clark and completed my AA last spring. I am now working on my Bachelor of Human Services (BASHS) so that I can get a Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW). I have always wanted to help kids, so my goal is to become a child and family social worker or work with CPS.
A little bit about me is that I was born in Portland and raised in the same Vancouver neighborhood my whole life. I love being outdoors in the summer and my favorite place to visit or go camping is anywhere in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, it is so beautiful out there! In the colder months I spend a lot of my free time playing video games or watching TV and anime.
I love being a student ambassador here and I have learned so much about the school already and it will be a lot of fun getting to work with students here. We are all so excited to meet all of you and help the best we can!
Meet Ambassador Judi
Hello! My name is Judi (or Jude) and my pronouns are she/her. I am thrilled to be one of the new Student Ambassadors this year!
The inside scoop on me…
My husband Kirk and I will be celebrating 30 years together this year. One of the most exciting things we’ve done together was secretly eloping in Thailand and then coming back, finding out we produced the most precious souvenir – our lovely, quirky daughter named Zoe. She is an amazing daughter with a variety of interests in taekwondo, art, music – just to name a few. I spend a lot of time running her to and from school and all of her activities. Our little dog Coco completes our family. She is a tiny, hairless Yorkie – not the prettiest girl, but that just makes me love her more.
My little family at the Mystere show in Vegas.
For the past 14 years, I have been a stay-at-home mom while also doing volunteer work. I loved it, but that position came to an end around the beginning of the pandemic. I dream of returning to volunteer work someday as I have found it to be fulfilling and meaningful. Until then, I look forward to learning and working alongside everyone here at Clark.
This will be my 2nd year at Clark. Last year I enrolled somewhat on a whim. I was turning 50 with a big party coming up. I decided to cancel the party and enroll as a gift to myself. I had only intended to take one class to see how it went and I was hooked! This was the best gift I ever gave to myself. I am pursuing an AA DTA, but I might change my mind again so don’t quote me on that. I am still not sure what I want to do when I grow up. Yes, that is ok to still be learning – even at 50+ years of age. Learning never expires.
I plan to bring my daughter to events on campus with me as much as possible so that she can get a feel for an environment. This has been an amazing experience being able to share this journey with her. My hope is that I will be able to better guide her through the enrollment process when she is ready to embark on the college life.
There may be some sibling jealousy going on here.
If you see me on campus or if we are in a class together, please reach out and say hello. I love meeting new people and making new friends!
Wishing you all the best as you invest in yourself and your education.
Clark College Student Ambassadors 