Clay Parker ’07, ’08
Sigma Tau Gamma
Kigali, Rwanda
“I try to be thoughtful, calculated and significant with everything I do knowing that the effects of my actions, whether good or bad, will ripple in time.
I have had the good fortune of being surrounded by a loving family and excellent mentors of faith and business. I want to be responsible with those gifts and always remain passionate about leaving things better than the way I found it by empowering others to reach their full potential. I feel even more responsible, now that I have left Arkansas, to provide a good representation of the strong values and communities that have influenced me.
Those that I met in my time at UCA have continued to be the staples in my life. I’m married to an Alpha Tau, Molly Gardner (Sp ‘10.) We currently live about eight thousand miles away from Conway in the city of Kigali, Rwanda….and believe it or not, our neighbor in Kigali is one of my fraternity brothers. Blayne Sharpe and I both moved to Rwanda several years ago to participate in the post-genocide efforts to restore and grow the economy. It has been an unbelievable ride; full of interesting people, business, culture, strange food, and epic adventure. Although my life has taken an unusual path, my Greek affiliation continues to be an integral part of everyday life. And I expect it to be that way forever.
Being a Sig Tau taught me to go beyond the status quo, to strive for something more and work harder than everyone else to achieve it. I found that in the process, many lives can be changed for the better. Not just your own.”
My Greek experience was, and is, a true blessing.