For many high schoolers, deciding on post-graduation plans feels like a one-way ticket. Westborough High School alumni Shannon Clark, however, provides an excellent example of the opportunities that can arise by being open to change.
After having graduated from WHS in 2023, Clark went on to attend Emerson College in Boston, MA, with a dual major in political science and journalism. In addition to furthering her academic career at Emerson, Clark was a setter for the school’s volleyball team. Between Emerson’s location, journalism program, and interest in volleyball, Clark explains that the school was a great option.
By the end of her freshman year, the thought of transferring to another school was in the back of her head. One of the primary reasons why Clark attended Emerson was to play volleyball, and when she decided to stop playing after her freshman season, her feelings towards continuing her schooling at Emerson shifted. Clark notes that she does not regret attending Emerson; it just was not a good fit for her anymore. In turn, she has just begun her first semester at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Here, she is continuing to major in political science. However instead of double majoring as she did at Emerson, she now has a concentration in sports journalism at UMass.
Even though she has just started her semester at UMass, Clark is already involved in the university’s newspaper, The Daily Collegian. The school paper is one of many of the opportunities that UMass provides for its students interested in pursuing journalism, including a student-run radio station, magazine, and sports podcast. Reflecting back on her experience with Emerson’s journalism program, she explains that much of her class recapped what she had learned through the WHS journalism program.
When asked about her experience being a student-athlete at Emerson, Clark shared that she was able to manage the responsibilities well. Because she was playing a sport, she only had to take four classes a semester. At WHS, students are used to taking all of the mandatory English, science, math, and history classes. The classes that Clark took during her time at Emerson, like writing, multimedia, and ethics class, focused specifically on her interests.
Regardless of where Clark has studied journalism, she agrees that the journalism program at WHS has given her so much knowledge that other kids entering this field do not know. In addition to having been The Lobby Observer’s Co-Editor in Chief for two years, Clark did Quest through Westborough TV in the fourth quarter of her senior year. While working at Westborough TV, General Manager Karen Henderson taught her how to use Adobe software. Slowly but surely, Clark went from editing pre-filmed projects, like concerts, to making her own documentaries. She comments, “I am so grateful for Karen Henderson. I’ve said it a thousand times and I will never stop saying it. She really took me under her wing.”
Around the same time that she did Quest, Clark developed her interest in sports photography. Between her own experience playing sports, as well as her love for watching sports, specifically baseball, she decided to begin an Instagram account where she could post pictures that she took at games (@picsbyspc). “As a former athlete I love being able to give people pictures of themselves playing the sport that they love,” Clark says.
Last summer, Clark furthered this passion by applying for a job as a photographer for the baseball team, the Worcester Bravehearts. What started out as fan photography, quickly turned into team photography. She explains, “As a girl, there are not many opportunities to be involved in baseball. Taking photos was a way for me to be a part of it.”
When asked where she hopes to see herself five years from now, Clark is not exactly sure. Although she knows that she wants to stay in New England, she does not have a strict plan for her future. “It’s very uncharacteristic of me to not have a plan, and it’s something I’m trying to work on,” says Clark.
To any high schooler who is feeling overwhelmed about the future, Clark advises, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Be flexible. You’re going to experience so many ups and downs. You may think you know exactly what you want to do and it’s going to change whether you like it or not. Being able to pivot from there is so important.”
