‘Student leader’ can have a very broad definition
Some Clarkies just seem to be everywhere. You spot them eating breakfast at the dining hall and then pass by them while they’re working an on-campus job before classes. Later that day, they could be leading a meeting as president of a campus club. Somewhere in between all of that, they fit in homework, socializing, and exercise.
How do they manage it all? Jordan Alexandre ’28, an honors student majoring in mathematics and minoring in data science, says being an active member of his community is just part of his nature. Connecting with his peers motivates him.
In high school, Alexandre served on student council and the Black Student Union, and played on the volleyball team. When he considered colleges and realized he could pursue those same opportunities at Clark, he wanted to keep the ball rolling.
For Alexandre, Clark’s intimate size was part of the school’s appeal. The small community meant that he would be able to take on leadership roles every year.
“I am able to try things out and then take a step back from them if I need to,” he says. “I have had a lot of support in doing that, especially when I was a peer mentor last year.”
Alexandre is the president of the volleyball and Black Student Union clubs. He’s also the main facilitator for the Men of Color Alliance (MOCA), which is an affinity space run through SLICE that provides space for Black and Brown students to celebrate achievements, support one another, and share experiences. Alexandre felt especially motivated to serve as a peer mentor during his sophomore year.
“I felt that I would be able to relate to my first-year mentees super well,” he says. “Because of the clubs that I am involved in, I was really hoping to encourage first-years to get involved on campus.” Peer mentors know that having someone to be inspired by can help positively shape a student’s college journey. Students like Alexandre who work to create inclusive spaces can be especially important.
“’Student leader’ can have a very broad definition,” says Alexandre. “That can take on many forms, from academics to extracurriculars.”
Being an involved student leader comes with the responsibility of managing your life and routine thoughtfully. Alexandre does that by choosing his classes wisely — talking to professors before taking their course and taking the add/drop period seriously.
“I am taking 3.5 classes, which was an intentional choice to balance everything else I am doing, such as clubs and having to cook for myself while living off campus,” he says.
Alexandre’s own motivation when things get overwhelming is provided by his community.
“The people really make whatever club you join,” he says. “Being the president of club volleyball means some of those players are my close friends, and I spend around eight hours a week playing with them.”
Alexandre also works at Dana Commons as a programming assistant. The main part of his job is running MOCA and planning programs such as the multicultural games.
“I really love running MOCA,” he says. “Having that space to talk with guys from all different years about what our identity means to us is important.”
Being an involved student leader helped Alexandre prepare for internships and career strategies. This past summer, he worked as an actuarial intern on the annuity product modeling team at MassMutual, a life insurance company. Interning there “was a good experience in learning what the actuary does and gaining an understanding of what a healthy working environment looks like.”
One of his Clark experiences that translated well to this internship was working in an office setting.
“Having a manager-intern relationship compared to having a manager-student employee relationship was similar, so it worked out well,” says Alexandre. He will be returning to his internship position at MassMutual next summer.
Alexandre, a Randolph, Massachusetts, native, hopes to become an actuary in the future and stay in New England.
