To some, he is the instructor who plays the guitar; to others he is the instructor who always has an open door. No matter which side of Farren Clark students and faculty identify with, one thing is certain: there is just something about him that can make a five-minute conversation turn into 30.Clark, the middle child of five, was home-schooled and always took time to experience the joy that running brought him. Thus, throughout his high school years, he ran summer track.

Clark practiced and trained with the track team at West Jefferson High School, but because of issues with paperwork, he was never able to actually compete with the team. Originally from Harvey, he arrived at Nicholls in the spring of 1999 where his dedication and persistence landed him a track scholarship.

Today he still holds the 800-meter record with a time of 1:51.44. However, the Nicholls men’s track program was canceled in the fall of 2004.

“Although teaching is great, I would have loved an opportunity to possibly coach at my alma mater. The coaches here are wonderful,” Clark said. “Although nowadays, I do more laps in the Cane’s drive-thru.

“I see teaching, running and coaching as a triangle,” Clark said. Being able to interact with the students is what makes being an instructor so rewarding, Clark said. “I try to give positive feedback to the students about how they are impacting me as well.

“Just being able to see a student talk about what they love and how they feel makes me feel almost as if I’m out there again, just in a different realm. Pushing them to just be themselves and show other people who they are,” Clark said.

How Clark ended up back at his alma mater was an interesting journey. After graduating in the fall of 2003 from Nicholls with a bachelor’s in mass communication with a concentration in print journalism, Clark immediately took a job working at one of the area’s newspapers, “The Daily Comet.”

After the excitement of graduation started to dwindle and the newness of writing for “The Daily Comet” wore off, Clark was left in the same scenario that many graduates experience: the question of what comes next.

“I started to feel like I wanted to spend a little more time on stories, rather than just publishing for the day. I wanted to dig into concepts, ask more questions besides the five W’s (who, what, when, where and why) and the H (how). I didn’t feel quite finished,” Clark said.

After talking to James Butler, Jr., associate professor of sociology and a close friend, Clark decided to apply to graduate schools. The University of Northern Iowa, where he received a scholarship offer and a graduate tuition stipend, was his final choice. After only one semester, he was approached with the opportunity to teach speech.

“Before I even thought about ‘why me,’ I said yes, and that’s how I got into teaching speech.”

Clark received his master’s in communication studies from UNI and was offered a position teaching speech at Nicholls.

Upon walking into class on his first day as an instructor, Clark quickly remembered what it felt like to be on the other side, as a student, sitting in Speech 101. While each situation varies, Clark tries to keep the learning environment “fun and fresh” while making sure students take him seriously as an instructor. “There are certain things that I expect from my students, such as being on time and giving 100 percent every day.”

Clark’s ultimate goal as an instructor is to “make the students break out of the whole idea that Speech 101 is just a course requirement and instead look at it as something that they can benefit from and will use in every class.” The idea of “getting you out there, know thy self,” is something a student will hear repeatedly throughout the semester. “How can you know yourself if you don’t connect to others?”

One method Clark uses inside his classroom is the reciting of poetry to music. “My sister, Joy, is a great guitarist, and God blessed me with a great idea.” Clark enjoys poetry corners and open-mic nights. Often, these events have music playing in the background.

“One morning I brought the guitar to my class, and while students read the poetry, music was played in the background.” The students seem to enjoy this experience and often volunteer to play the guitar.

“Music makes poetry three-dimensional.” Some of the poems used in class include Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman” and Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” Clark said.

When Clark went to graduate school at UNI, he did not always plan to return. Instead, his outlook was to “follow the bouncing ball or the yellow brick road, although it wasn’t always yellow brick.”

Steve Michot, associate professor and department head of history at Nicholls, often told Clark, “you go on and get your masters, and you come back and teach.” At that time Clark couldn’t help but think “yeah right” although “Michot seemed so certain about it.”

The 29-year-old definitely sees a doctorate in his future. “One of the good things about being here at Nicholls is the encouragement that I get from fellow faculty. There are a lot of different personalities and openness which pushes me to explore different paths.”

“I really enjoy what I do and everyone I work with. I just thank God,” Clark said. “I feel blessed to be able to be here at Nicholls. I feel like I’m right where I need to be for whatever time it is.