Northwestern College will award Bachelor of Arts degrees to 281 students during commencement Saturday, May 10.
Ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m. in the DeWitt Physical Fitness Center of the Rowenhorst Student Center. Rick Clark, instructor in Spanish at Northwestern, will address the graduates. The college’s baccalaureate service is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, May 9, in Christ Chapel.
Clark, last year’s recipient of the Northwestern Teaching Excellence Award, has a fast-paced teaching style that focuses on speaking the language. He is known for his ability to tailor his teaching to a variety of learning styles, as well as to make his classes both fun and effective. He often incorporates music, games, prayer, Scripture, and his personal experiences with Spanish-speaking cultures into the classroom.
Clark was born and raised in Ecuador as the son of missionary parents and spent three summers in Spain while earning a master’s degree in Spanish from the University of Northern Iowa. Passionate about enabling students to experience another culture, he will lead his second summer study abroad course to Ecuador this summer and is researching the possibility of a semester study abroad program in Guatemala or Costa Rica. He has also led mission trips to Ecuador, Mexico and the Netherlands.
Before joining Northwestern’s faculty in 1997, Clark taught high school Spanish and English for 22 years, the last 17 at MOC-Floyd Valley High School in Orange City. A former lay pastor for a Hispanic congregation, he continues to provide translation services in the community. He also serves as chair of the college’s modern foreign language department and is a member of the Modern Language Association, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and the North American Christian Foreign Language Association.
