Sara Kilroy
CDP/M.A. '06

1. Please describe your present professional position? Please include the URL of your organization.

I am currently working as an advisor for an alternative experiential education institute. I oversee the community action component of the curriculum in addition to advising eighteen students from two programs. To learn more about Dynamy, check out our website at www.dynamy.org.

2. What do you find satisfying about your position?

My greatest satisfaction comes from working directly with the students. Our programs pull students from very different backgrounds which adds to the diversity of my day. This position also allows me to connect with the local community in many ways through my involvement with the community action piece of our curriculum.

3. How did the CDP program at Clark University help to prepare you?

The CDP program taught me to see the objective of educating young people in an entirely different light. I am using many of the hard skills I learned while a student at Clark like running a community meeting, facilitating group discussions, working in groups and being a critical thinker to name a few.

4. Why should prospective students enroll in the CDP program at Clark University?

Aside from the pleasure of living in Worcester, MA, Clark's CDP program offers a holistic view of development while educating students in a variety of hard skills. Before leaving Clark, a student learns a mix of theory and practice while preparing them for the next challenge that lies ahead.

5. Did you have an internship as part of your Clark education? If so, how did it help to connect you to your current career?

While at Clark, I chose to intern with the Worcester public high schools. I facilitated an out of school time research group. Among other projects, our most recent work focused on what were the teachers best teaching practices. Using the data we collected, the student researchers worked with teachers to make curriculum changes in their school.

6. What was the topic of your research while at Clark University?

My topic of research included looking at local area youth in the public high schools and identifying what mechanisms enabled them to make changes in their school.