By Craig Williams

Long before he ever became ‘Doctor’ Brent Clark, a man well-known and respected from one end of Illinois to the other, he’d already wrapped his young mind around an important key principle; one that would play a central role in propelling him academically, professionally and — ultimately — personally.

The young, non-PhD version of Brent Clark grew up in Southern Illinois, just 52-miles from Mounds, as the crow flies. Like some of the small, rural communities served by Meridian School, his home turf in the northeast corner of Williamson County numbered fewer folks than you’d likely find lined-up at a Chick-fil-A on any given lunch rush. The handful of folks who called his intersection near Corinth home were coal miners, farmers, laborers, and other hardworking sorts who were the extended branches of generations of people who also grew up there and did their best to maintain, but who were seldom ever a step or two ahead of economic uncertainty. Brent was the son of full-time school teachers, and his family also farmed, but even as they coaxed a living from the ground beneath their feet, they were adjacent to poverty. It was never more than a few houses or farms away; always in view. And even in adjacency, poverty can be a thief of both hope and of our belief in possibilities. As a hedge, or a kind of moat to this threat, young Brent forged his key principle in the crucible of his environment, and it was simply this: Work hard, get a good education, and find ways to show gratitude; to say thank you.

What happens in a moment can change us forever and in that moment, Brent Clark put a dent in the universe that would change the trajectory of a small-town kid from the middle of nowhere. And in the moments that followed, that young man’s influence has been felt and leveraged by thousands of students during his time as a teacher, a coach, a principal, and as a superintendent. Now, in the last quarter of his career, as the Executive Director of the Illinois Association of School Administrators — the IASA — he’s making moments matter through his influence on hundreds of Superintendents from north of Chicago to Mounds City. It is through the wonderful conduit of adjacency that Dr. Clark’s influence is being felt today — even as you read these words — by our own Meridian School community.

You see, if our own Superintendent, Mr. Green, hadn’t been in the audience a few Tuesdays ago, he’d have missed the talk Dr. Clark gave to a roomful of Superintendents about the importance of moments, about the admonition to measure the balance of their careers, not by how much time remained, but by how many lives they could positively impact in that time. And it is because of Mr. Green’s presence in that room, and the profound impact of Dr. Clark’s message, that we find ourselves reflecting here on how a mere moment can change the entire trajectory of a young person’s life from Southern Illinois.

“Work hard, get a good education, and find ways to show gratitude.”

Moments matter. To the extent that we can make universe-denting commitments and agree to treat things like hard work, gratitude, and the pursuit of an education as non-negotiable items on our ‘to-do’ lists; to the extent that those of us in parenting, teaching, and mentoring roles can commit to making the most of our moments with the youth of our community, we will rise together, as Meridian.

In the moments I had with Dr. Clark, he reminded me of an ironic twist in our collective reality as students, teachers, parents, and superintendents — that the days may seem long, but that the months, [and years] somehow, go by blazingly fast. Seize your moment today. Sure as a seed planted in Southern Illinois soil will grow into something strong and sturdy, so will an investment in your future today pay tremendous, harvestable dividends throughout the seasons of your life.