Brooklyn Clark started her education in the Roseburg School District, where she attended through the 7th grade until her family moved, and she finished 8th-12th grade in Sutherlin. Brooklyn was active in volleyball, softball, unified PE, unified cheer, HOSA (Future Health Professionals), and FFA (Future Farmers of America). Her FFA Supervised Agriculture Experience was raising lambs, building on her previous skills from raising rabbits and lambs and doing photography in 4-H when she was younger. Brooklyn credits the FFA program with opening her to the world, primarily through the public speaking skills she learned, skills she uses daily in her work. During the summers, she traveled the Northwest with seven to eight lambs, attending and practicing showmanship skills at jackpot shows where the lambs were exhibited and judged on breeding traits specific to their breed standard.
Although Sutherlin’s curriculum allows students to take college credit courses, she would like to see a more comprehensive curriculum selection focusing on general life skills to prepare students for living independently. The high school classes she took leaned toward the medical field: medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, animal science, chemistry, and ag business. When she was young, she aspired to become a veterinarian, and then, around middle school, she thought she would like to be a nurse.
After graduating in 2020, she enrolled in Umpqua Community College and attended classes for nearly two years, working to fulfill prerequisites for a nursing program. This was during COVID-19, and classes became online, making it challenging to obtain hands-on experiences. She left school before receiving her degree, accepting a position at Palm Family Eyecare, where she worked for a year as a receptionist. A family friend encouraged her to apply for a technician opening at Umpqua Valley Eye Associates, where she is now employed as a medical assistant and is working on obtaining her technician certification through on-the-job training and reading textbooks in preparation to take the state board test. To receive her certification, she must have 1000 plus hours of on-the-job experience and pass the state board test. Her job duties include preparing the exam room and performing basic vision tests. Brooklyn has learned to prioritize her time and effectively interact and communicate, as well as how to be a better people person, interacting with patients.
Brooklyn lives in Sutherlin and volunteers as a 4-H leader working with youth on lamb showmanship skills in her free time. She enjoys hunting deer and elk, fishing for salmon, steelhead, and smallmouth bass, and cooking. She takes delight in finding extraordinary recipes online and trying them out. Her parents have significantly impacted her, her father motivating and encouraging her to find answers to her questions, and her mother in her interest in the medical field.