UC alumnus makes lemonade out of lemons

Clark Beck "turns lemons into lemonade."

"There are so many things you can't control in life, so you just have to play the hand you're dealt and trust that being positive and persistent will pay off in the end."

Now an accomplished engineer living in Kettering, OH and proud UC alum, it's evident Clark's positive and strong-willed approach to life did, in fact, pay off. But the road to success certainly wasn't an easy one for Clark, who graduated in UC's first class of African American Engineering students in 1969. More than 40 years later, he looks back at UC as the "something better" that came along after so many other doors were closed on him.

After earning a math degree from the Virginia Union University, Clark's repeated rejection from engineering programs near his home in Indiana only intensified his ambition to pursue his dream.  He eventually found himself in the office of UC's Dean of the College of Engineering, where he was admitted into the mechanical engineering program, despite being told he'd likely "catch hell" as one of the first African American students in the program.

At times, Clark wonders how he made it through those days. He struggled through an intense engineering program with few friends, a weak support system and undesirable, yet more affordable, living conditions off- campus. Finding a co-op job was a difficult trek too, but he eventually landed a position with the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base two weeks prior to the deadline – an opportunity that paved the way for the rest of his career.

Today, Mr. Beck’s grandson Emory is following in Clark's footsteps, pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering , but at a completely different UC than Clark experienced forty-plus years ago. Emory lives on campus. He has friends, roommates, and a huge support system through the Darwin T. Turner Scholars Program and Emerging Ethnic Engineers (E3) Program - both of which were not available to Clark.

“UC has grown leaps and bounds since I was in school,” Clark says, “Not just academically and physically, but intellectually. UC has made tremendous changes – all for the better – and I’m proud of that.”

“I’ve always looked up to my grandfather as an engineer, as a person, especially intellectually, and I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Emory says. “I’m even working at Wright Patterson and plan on working there as an engineer for my career.”

Tell us what you know about turning lemons into lemonade! What was your biggest educational challenge and how did you overcome it?

Chicago’s Maddox, DAAP alum honored with 2011 Legend Award

Eva Maddox, DAAP alum and 2011 Legend Award receipient.
Photo credited to Contract Magazine.

Congratulations to Chicago alum and UC Foundation Trustee Eva Maddox, who recently won the 2011 Legend Award by Contract Magazine! This award pays tribute to Eva’s significant career accomplishments rooted in her UC education and her impact on the field of interior design. Among those accomplishments, Contract boasts:

“Maddox has designed millions of square feet of office, showroom, healthcare, museum, and institutional space nationally and internationally; has garnered more than 100 awards for her work; and has founded an innovative design graduate school in inner city Chicago that serves as a model for community and social development.”

And that’s just the introduction! Eva’s deep connection with UC played a prominent role in her success story.

“Maddox’s design journey began in Viola, Tenn., where her mother, who was a high school advisor at the time, assessed her daughter’s talents and inclinations and urged her to attend the University of Cincinnati. Maddox and her mother could see that it’s top-rated College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning program, which emphasized both theory and practice, would enable her to leverage her problem-solving and math skills with her creative interests, while giving her the experience she needed to thrive in the workplace. Maddox says her mother told her: “When you graduate, you will have a job.” The wisdom of her mother’s guidance continues to affect the designer to this day.”

Though the university has changed dramatically since Eva’s graduation, the cornerstones of her education still ring true today.

“Maddox sees the University’s interdisciplinary education program as the pivotal starting point for the adaptive and integrative approach she uses to solve programs in her current practice. And since she graduated in 1966, a relationship of reciprocal loyalty and respect has emerged between the designer and her alma mater, which over the years has enlisted her to design the entrance hall and exhibition space of a significant new building on its campus (Richard E. Lindner Hall in Varsity Village), invited her to join its foundation board of trustees, and awarded her with an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree.”

Be sure to congratulate your fellow Bearcat on this tremendous honor by commenting below. And check out the full article here!