Dean Kamala Kiem on finding your passions and narrowing your focus<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><br \/>\n <br \/>\n Kamala Kiem, Associate Provost for Student Success and Dean of Students\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">College orientation begins with a call to action: Get involved. Students are urged to try as many clubs, organizations, and activities as possible — at Clark, there are more than 120 to explore. As students find their niche, however, it may be difficult to know when to pull back and streamline their lives.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kamala Kiem, associate provost for student success and dean of students, has some advice for Clarkies who find themselves in that predicament.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Growing up, my dad told me that sometimes you have to take a step backward to leap forward. Some of the most courageous decisions I’ve made in life required taking a step backward,” she says. “Knowing your values, knowing your purpose, knowing what you’re trying to do in this world are key to discerning how to spend your time.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">On this episode of<strong> Challenge. Change.<\/strong>, Kiem shares tools to help first-year students explore their identity and passions on campus and in the city of Worcester.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Challenge. Change.<\/strong> is produced by Andrew Hart and Melissa Hanson for Clark University. Listen and subscribe on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/4UuYAjq1d3Hq45cjwxoCNL\">Spotify<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/challenge-change\/id1608025510\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>. Find other episodes wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a class=\"filled-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/life-at-clark\/student-clubs-and-organizations\/\" aria-label=\"Explore clubs and organizations\">Explore clubs and organizations<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dean Kamala Kiem on finding your passions and narrowing your focus<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12872,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"#525250","story_headerImg":12872,"section_label":"Challenge. Change. Podcast","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[223,239],"displayed_author":[237],"featured":[],"topic":[255,253,148,269,176,119,121,172],"class_list":["post-12871","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clark-community","category-worcester-world","displayed_author-melissa-hanson","topic-administration","topic-campus","topic-community","topic-division-of-student-success","topic-podcast","topic-student-life","topic-undergraduate-students","topic-worcester"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Stepping backward to leap forward | ClarkU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stepping backward to leap forward\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dean Kamala Kiem on finding your passions and narrowing your focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ClarkU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-04T17:47:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/21\\\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/21\\\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stepping backward to leap forward | ClarkU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/21\\\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/21\\\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-21T15:04:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-04T17:47:44+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/21\\\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/21\\\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/37\\\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Move In Day 2022\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\\\/12871#breadcrumbs\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":0,\"name\":\"ClarkU\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"ClarkU News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":6,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-json\\\/wp\\\/v2\\\/story\\\/12871\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"ClarkU News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.clarku.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stepping backward to leap forward | ClarkU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stepping backward to leap forward","og_description":"Dean Kamala Kiem on finding your passions and narrowing your focus","og_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/","og_site_name":"ClarkU News","article_modified_time":"2025-04-04T17:47:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/","name":"Stepping backward to leap forward | ClarkU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2.jpg","datePublished":"2023-08-21T15:04:15+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-04T17:47:44+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/21\/stepping-backward-to-leap-forward\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Move In Day 2022"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/12871#breadcrumbs","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":0,"name":"ClarkU","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ClarkU News","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":6,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/12871"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/","name":"ClarkU News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022-Move-In-Day-26-AUG-261-scaled-2-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/12871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/12871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12871"},{"taxonomy":"displayed_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/displayed_author?post=12871"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=12871"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=12871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}