‘The best way to challenge convention is to challenge yourself’

Clark University has announced the student speakers for the May 20 Commencement ceremony.

Laila El-Samra ’24, a biochemistry major and student leader who is planning a career in dentistry, will address her fellow undergraduates.

Gabe Spindel ’23, MBA ’24, a second-generation Clarkie preparing to launch his career in Washington, D.C., will speak to members of the graduate school.

‘Our stories are ours to write’

Laila El-Samra and her fellow seniors from the Class of 2024 — as with many seniors from across the U.S. and the world —  will be enjoying their first “normal” commencement ceremony since middle school. They are the “COVID class,” whose high school graduation ceremonies were dramatically altered by the pandemic, reduced either to drive-thru ceremonies or virtual farewells with diplomas arriving in the mail.

El-Samra remembers her first year at Clark as one that required “high adaptability” for everyone on campus. It’s difficult enough to adjust to a new academic environment, but when everyone is masked and distanced, and spraying down their desks at the end of each class, the transition from high school to college can be doubly challenging.

So Clark’s Commencement holds special meaning for the Class of 2024, who will be gathering in the DCU Center to mark the conclusion of their student years, celebrate the resilience and solidarity they exhibited during a time of uncertainty, and greet the many opportunities that await them.

“Academically, Clark has been a very supportive environment,” says El-Samra, a biochemistry major from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, who this July will be entering the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. She notes that when two of her grandparents died last fall, her professors “helped me get through it.”

Their deaths also helped inspire her to embrace the concept of “free will maxing,” which, she writes, “encourages us to embrace opportunities and exercise our free will without hesitation.”

“When I look around, I wonder why we are all so static when our lives are ours to live and our stories are ours to write,” El-Samra says. “I want to take advantage of every opportunity and maximize my time on earth.”

She has certainly maximized her time at Clark, serving as president of the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association, secretary of the Muslim Student Association, and as a representative on Student Council, doing advocacy work and community-building.

She’s particularly proud of her efforts on behalf of the Food Insecurity Resistance Movement (FIRM) pantry, which has made great strides in combatting food insecurity on campus. Her weekly shopping trips helped keep the shelves filled for her fellow students — and added another chapter to her story.

‘The best way to challenge convention is to challenge yourself’

Gabriel “Gabe” Spindel ’23, MBA ’24, was adamant that he didn’t want to attend Clark University. His parents, both Class of 1989, met and fell in love here, and while Clark was a special part of Spindel family lore, Gabe “did not want to walk too closely in my parents’ shoes.”

And then, as a high schooler, he visited campus.

On a Friday evening, he wandered into Jonas Clark Hall, where a meeting of the group Science-Fiction People of Clark was taking place, with students dressed in full “Star Trek” regalia. He then headed to the campus green, where a group of international students invited him to throw a Frisbee with them. And finally, inside Atwood Hall, he watched Clark studies perform a satirical play that he describes as “the most unhinged, over-the-top play I’d ever seen.”

“I loved it all,” Spindel recalls with a smile. “I fell in love with the fact that people were happy being themselves.”

He’s eager to tell the Clark community of his admiration for the University where he’s spent the past five years, highlight the opportunities the experience has given him, and inspire his fellow graduates to “have a sense of confidence in the future.”

“The best way to challenge convention is to challenge yourself,” says the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, native. “As long as you lean in and apply yourself, you’ll be fine.”

Spindel says he enjoyed his service on the School of Management Student Council in the past year. “I was grinding so many hours a day, I just wanted to give something back,” he says. “It was something I wanted to lean into.” He adds with a laugh, “I never had so much food cooked for me from other countries. It was amazing.”

In addition to his MBA studies, Spindel is currently interning as a project coordinator for an engineering consulting firm. The company has offered him a full-time position in Washington, D.C., and he’ll be moving there this summer.

“I really do think Clark is a special place, one of a kind,” he says. “People are encouraged to be open and clear about their passions in a way I’ve never seen anywhere else. You learn twice as much in the hallways as you do in the classroom because you get to see the world through so many lenses. Everyone is okay with being unique.”