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Haley Clarke '29
Haley Clarke ’29
From learning online about the incredible opportunities the college offers for women in STEM to a conversation with an upperclass Agnes Scott College student, Haley Clarke ’29 knew the institution was the best one to help her achieve her goal of working in healthcare.
“I knew I wanted to pursue science, particularly biology,” said Clarke. “My sisters are nurses and that piqued my interest in the field. When I found out about Agnes Scott’s dual degree nursing program with Emory, I knew that was the best option for me.”
The dual degree nursing program allows its participants to complete their first three years at Agnes Scott, fulfilling their general education requirements and nursing prerequisites under the Summit experience, before transferring to Emory’s Woodruff School of Nursing to pursue their BSN from one of the top nursing schools in the nation. Successful completion of the program allows participants to also receive their BA in general studies from Agnes Scott, alongside the deeper understanding of what it means to be a leader in a global context.
“Agnes Scott has a tight-knit community, small class sizes and gives me enhanced opportunities to learn because I have direct access to my professors,” Clarke said about what makes the school a good fit for her needs. “My faculty encourage me to put myself in roles that I never imagined. I have learned to take charge, make tough decisions.”
Haley Clarke
Clarke is no stranger to putting herself in uncomfortable situations in order to grow. Though she lives in the Atlanta-area now, she lived in Westmoreland, Jamaica through elementary school before migrating to the United States.
“Growing up in Jamaica, it’s primarily Black, but you see lots of different ethnic groups. Coming to the U.S., it’s not something new, but it’s enhanced. In Atlanta, I’ve met people from even further across the globe than I’d met in Jamaica,” Clarke said. “I enjoy learning about other cultures—getting to know and experience someone else’s way of living.”
Cultural competency is integrated into the Agnes Scott curriculum. Like all first year students, Clarke participated in Journeys, a semester-long course about a specific region of the world coupled with a week-long travel immersion experience. She focused on the holistic, multidimensional exploration of health in the Gullah Geechee Corridor—integrating her interest in healthcare with a look at the cultural relevance of the Gullah Geechee peoples in Beaufort and Charleston, South Carolina.
Because of Agnes Scott’s liberal arts model, Clarke has been able to pursue interdisciplinary courses towards completion of her degree. She’s particularly found public health, which integrates disciplines like biology with social sciences and humanities courses, to be compelling. She has especially connected with assistant professor of public health, Atticus Wolfe, who she has found to be an encouraging and empowering professor.
“He’s very thoughtful,” Clarke said of Professor Wolfe. “During one-on-one conversations, he waits until you’re finished speaking and will then break down his thoughts step-by-step so you stay on the same page throughout the whole conversation. He adapts his teaching style to communicate effectively with every student. He teaches public health in a way that opens students up to topics and ideas that they may not have been interested in before.”
“Thriving through work and school is incredibly rewarding,” said Clarke, who works at a local grocery store and is pursuing volunteer and internship opportunities in healthcare. “From the administrative side to student tutors, there is a lot of support across campus. I’ve never been in an environment like this before, but I enjoy it. This powerful network has fueled my confidence and unlocked my authentic voice. It means a lot me.”
