Summer 2007 - Northwestern College

Facultyprofile
Northwestern Classic
Rick Clark
A Different Mission Field
Rick Clark’s classes feature award-winning teaching, bold faith, and a passion for Spanish
Spanish instructor Rick Clark, the 2007 recipient of the Northwestern Teaching Excellence Award, learned Spanish in his home and on the streets as the son of missionaries
to Ecuador. As a result, his classes emphasize hearing and speaking the language.
by Duane Beeson
Halfway through Professor Rick Clark’s Spanish 102
course during spring semester, sophomore Robert Johnson
knew his major was “undecided” no more.
“I got really excited about Spanish—how he taught it,
how he integrated his faith with it, the opportunities to use
the language. His passion for it made me passionate about it,”
says Johnson.
“I was excited to come to class every day to hear the next
story he had to tell, whether it was about growing up in
Ecuador, a mission trip he was on, or about some things that
were happening locally. He talked openly about how Christ
was using him—and I realized God could use me too.”
Suddenly it all clicked for Johnson. The Southern
California resident’s church, Emmanuel Reformed of
Paramount, has been encouraging its members to make a difference
in Compton, a nearby city noted for poverty and a
high crime rate. Johnson realized a major in Spanish would
prepare him well to work with Compton’s large Hispanic population.
14 ▲ Summer 2007