Ira Clark

https://www.facebook.com/ira.clark.7

Shortly following graduation from CHS and starting my undergrad at George Washington University I was invited to attend the South by South Lawn event at the White House, where I also had the chance to meet President Obama. This is a result of me and the rest of my film crew (Johnny Abrolat '17 & Christian Settles '17) entering the White House Film Festival as one of our last projects in Advanced Video Production with Ms. Hills. In August of 2017 we were notified that our film had been a finalist in the festival, becoming one of the top 13 films of the over 700 submitted. It can be viewed here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/FilmFest (Look for the film titled "A Walk") or here: https://vimeo.com/181125989

Currently I'm also continuing my athletic career from CHS onward at George Washington University, by being a part of their Division I track team, I compete in the sprint events (60m-400m) just like I did at CHS.

At George Washington University I'm receiving my bachelor's degree in International Affairs with concentrations in the Middle East and Security Policy with a minor in Arabic at the Elliott School of International Affairs, which currently ranks #7 in the world for my field of study.

At the present (Dec. 2017) I intern both with the USDA working with their implementation of Executive Order 13556 regarding controlled unclassified information, and I also intern with Congressman David Joyce (OH-14) at the U.S. Capitol. I look forward to being a Research Assistant with George Washington University's Program on Extremism in the coming semester.

My father, James Clark is a previous alum of CHS of the class of 1981.

Spending lunch with my friends almost everyday except when I had to cram finishing some last minute homework at the library was always so fun! Although much of what we said wouldn't be relevant to many others as most've what we talked about were inside jokes built up over years of friendship, my most single favorite memory of high school might have to be when I was a director for the production of the short film that went alongside "Every Fifteen Minutes" in my senior year (which can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/160288447 ). Truly a memorable and emotional 24 hours creating the film alongside many of the video production class, especially Christian and Johnny who I'd choose to work with again for the White House Film Festival. The intensive workflow and creative process that was undergone during the 24 hours we had to make this is a once in a lifetime experience. Too have our film shown to the entirety of the upperclassmen, with the lights being turned on after the screening to see tears in so many eyes is a testament to the impact of what I directed but also what we as filmmakers also had to go through in creating it.

My most inspiring teacher was Dr. Arboleda who I had the privilege of being a student under during my junior year in the "IB History of the Americas" class. This is where I developed my interest in international affairs as the class primarily revolved around how the United States' relationship and influenced evolved over its history with other countries around the world and particularly within the hemisphere. Dr. Arboleda is truly overqualified to simply be a high school teacher, she could be a professor at any top university, her depth of knowledge and analysis on academic material is unmatched, there was hardly a time where either I or any other student could not have one of our questions responded to with an original and substantive answer. Additionally she cared for the excellence of each and every one of us, on an academic level as well as a personal level. She brought her wealth of life experiences to the classroom as lessons for us to learn from, everyone one of us was touched by them. If it weren't for her, I certainly wouldn't be where I was today in many regards.