Professor William Clark
“I want to model my life after Jesus.”
This is the goal of William Clark, a professor in AUBG, who teaches Biology and Environmental Science.
The professor grew up in Upstate New York, later moved to Pennsylvania and in 1992 he moved in Bulgaria with his wife. He was working with a Christian organization and he came to Bulgaria in order to help people to connect with God. He did humanitarian work with orphanages and was helping retirees to pay their bills.
Clark says he enjoys helping other people. One of the rules he follows in life is to love your neighbor. “Self-centeredness really traps a person and when we can break out of that, we enjoy life more and just think of what society would be like if everyone had this kind of a perspective of ’’How can I help others?’’ The professor thinks the meaning of life is to live outside yourself. He says his biggest motivation is to do what is right through a moral perspective.
Clark calls himself an introvert. “I love spending time with people, but it takes energy out of me, so to get recharged, I go out in nature and spend time by myself and then I’m ready to deal with people again.” He said that the choice of his degree was related to him being an introvert. “I started Wildlife Biology to get a job, where I didn’t have to deal with people, but here I am… people all the time.’’
He says his favorite part of teaching it that he is offering these courses in a university, which does not focus on science a lot and this way he exposes non-scientists to science and gives them a chance to learn something different.
His students say a lot of nice things about him.
“I like Professor Clark a lot. He has very nice personal attention to each of the students and I think this is something very important, which a professor should have. I took Environmental Science with him. The subject was very interesting and I recommend it a lot,’’ says Georgi Georgiev, a sophomore in AUBG.
Another sophomore from the university, who could say something positive about him is Anna Andreeva. She says ‘’He was my adviser in my freshman year. He helped me so much with my courses, because I was so lost and didn’t know what to do.’’
Clark says that out of the subjects he teaches he is most passionate about Environmental Science. He believes that everyone must know more about it in order to save the planet. He says “Consume less, drive less.’’ Clark believes that AUBG must have a recycling system and a recycling bin in Balkanski Academic Center is what he calls ‘’my little contribution’’ to the university.
The professor thinks that Bulgaria could develop a lot in this direction. He wants to stay there at least for the next five years and says that even if he decides to go back to The USA, he would always spend a part of his time in Bulgaria.
When he talks about his free time, the professor says “Haven’t had any recently, but…” Still, when he has it, he enjoys riding a mountain bike and listening to acoustic music.
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Dimitar Palazov is a student from AUBG majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication and Film and Theater. He would have been very happy if Bulgaria had a better recycling system.
