Testimonial - Steve Clark, Master’s Degree in Public Administration

Steve Clark, Environmental Protection Agency environmental scientist, was recently tasked with developing a strategic plan for the nation’s water capacity development program. It just so happened that Clark, a 2007 graduate of American Military University (AMU), had a draft strategic plan already started.

“My AMU paper for my master’s program became the first draft for my EPA strategic plan,” says Clark. “My courses at AMU help me do my job better – and opened my eyes to the big picture.”

Clark earned his master’s degree in public administration in 2007. He had earned his bachelor’s degree in 1999, nearly 12 years after he started. Like many service members, assignments and deployments led to numerous delays along the way.

Clark served in the U.S. Army from 1991 to 1996 and in the Army Reserve from 1996 to 2005. He joined the Army four years after high school. At the time, he was unsure of his career direction, thinking about pursuing a child psychology career. He thought the Army might provide good experience in the meantime. He chose the specialty of preventive medicine.

“I wasn’t looking at it as a career – just something to fall back on,” Clark says.

Clark was deployed to Kuwait in 1994, twice, for about seven months total. He was later activated as an Army Reservist in 2003. He served in and around Baghdad, including serving Abu Ghraib prison.

Clark received a life-changing phone call just as he was loading up his gear for Baghdad. He had been working for Richmond, Virginia’s Office of Drinking Water and had applied for an EPA position. He landed the job through an over-the-phone interview – and the EPA offered to hold the position until he returned. Now, his Army “fall back” skills were turning into a successful career.

“When I came back I had a different focus,” says Clark. He felt he had made a difference while deployed. He kept the soldiers healthy while working with civilians and Iraq’s interim Ministry of Heath on industrial hygiene, food safety, water and other preventive medicine issues.

He was now committed to continuing with this career path – and his education. However, the challenges of going to school as a service member were now replaced by a 4 ½-hour round-trip commute to his D.C. office, along with work and family commitments. American Military University offered the solution.

“Online learning was the only option for me,” says Clark. He studied late in the evening and on weekends, temporarily giving up a favorite pastime of watching Sunday afternoon football. He paid for part of the tuition himself and also through federal tuition assistance and the last of his G.I. Bill benefits.

“I was taking similar courses as some of my environmental engineer peers,” says Clark. “The only difference was they were sitting in classrooms paying three times the tuition.”

Clark says his courses mirrored his work -- helping him better understand the inner workings of government, such as the budgeting process and the impact of legislation.

“It was more than a general government course. It broke down who has what influence,” he says. “I was both studying it and living it.”

Clark plans to continue working in the public sector and, ultimately, for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He says he has an inner drive to support his fellow veterans. “I know my master’s degree has made me more competent and competitive in today’s job market,” Clark says.

Fast Facts:
►Residence: Culpeper, Va.
►Family: Married to Lisa for 17 years; daughters Amanda and Abby
►Service Branch: U.S. Army and Army Reserve
►Occupation: Environmental scientist with the EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water
►Degree path: Public Administration, Master's Degree; graduated 2007
►Career goal: Continuing to serve in the public sector, eventually working for the Department of Veteran Affairs