Clark University - Clarknews winter 2004
Captain Clark: Frank Tetreault ‘68
One of Clark‘s outstanding volunteers
By Wendy Linden
Welcome aboard flight 950. Destination: Clark University. Your captain is Frank Tetreault '68, pilot for United Airlines and tireless ambassador for Clark's Alumni Admissions Program (AAP).
A tradition of volunteerism
When Tetreault isn't flying a United Airlines Airbus 320 throughout the Western Hemisphere, he's logging hours for Clark.
"During my sophomore and junior years at Clark, I gave Scarlet Key admissions tours of the campus and was president of the organization during my junior year," recalls Tetreault. "Speaking to prospective Clark students at college fairs now is a logical extension of my old Scarlet Key duties."
Tetreault, who lives in Arlington, Va., is a key leader in Clark's AAP in the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. He travels to, or coordinates other volunteers to attend, as many as 26 college fair sessions each year. In addition to managing an active group of 30 AAP volunteers, Tetreault recruits new volunteers, conducts alumni admissions interviews, writes articles for the AAP newsletter and attends AAP training events.
"My work for the AAP is my way of giving something back to Clark," says Tetreault. "I grew up in Northborough, Mass., and was a need-based scholarship student at Clark. In my senior year, I was co-captain of the basketball and baseball teams, and I worked in the bookstore all four years. The longtime head of the bookstore, Dick Courtney, was like my surrogate parent. Clark did a lot for me."
In addition to his work for Clark, Tetreault also volunteers approximately 35 hours per month at Washington-Lee High School with four High Intensity Language Training math classes. He is also the Citrus Sales chairman for the Washington, D.C., chapter of Amigos de Las Americas, which sends 35 Metro D.C. high-school volunteers each year to join more than 600 volunteers from around the United States to conduct six- or eight-week community-service projects in Latin America.
Worldwide missions
Before joining United Airlines in 1989, Tetreault spent 20 years in the Air Force, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. That journey began with Officer Training School and pilot training in Texas after Tetreault graduated from Clark. He went on to fly C-130 cargo missions in the United States, Europe and Asia. Toward the end of the Vietnam War, he flew 75 combat missions in the AC-130 gunship. His flight career even included a stint as a WC-130 "Hurricane Hunter" in Biloxi, Miss., where "our storm investigations once had me flying into a full-blown hurricane," he recalls. "Flying into the storm's eye was like flying into Niagara Falls." In addition, he served as the Assistant Air Force Attaché for the U.S. Embassy in Honduras, shuttling U.S. and foreign officials between Central America and Southern Command Headquarters in Panama.
When the Air Force offered Tetreault the chance to earn a master's degree through the University of Akron, Tetreault jumped at the chance. "I studied human factors engineering—that's code for ergonomics. At the time, the Air Force needed a pilot with a psychology background who could help optimize the man-machine interface," says Tetreault. He used his new expertise at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California to evaluate new Air Force equipment and maintenance procedures.
Captain at home
Today, Tetreault's duties for United Airlines keep him closer to home, and that's just fine with him.
"I've been with United for 14 years and I am currently based at Dulles International Airport. I have some control over my schedule, which is an advantage when it comes to my work for Clark," he explains. "I can coordinate with fellow volunteers from anywhere in the United States by using my cell phone. Since I know when I'll be in town each month, I can cover daytime college fairs, visit local high-school guidance counselors, interview prospective students and organize events."
One of his favorite events was an annual summer send-off reception that he and his wife hosted for the past three years. An unexpected outgrowth of this reception has been the formation of an informal Metro D.C. Clark Parents Group. "This group organizes air and van transportation between Clark and the D.C. area for Clark students from our region. What is really nice about this group is the friendships that have developed among the Clark parents," says Tetreault.
Last fall, that parents' group was very busy arranging transportation for 25 new Clark students from the Metro-D.C. area. "That's the most students we've ever sent to Clark from this region," Tetreault boasts. "It's a record." And according to Tetreault, it's a record he and his area volunteers hope to break next year.
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