Stanford Standout
Impressive mentors help Recon Marine sergeant excel at one of America’s elite universities.
By Dan Fazio

Not many student veterans can boast their academic adviser is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Or count former Defense Secretary William Perry as one of their professors. And few can say they hang out with respected statesman George Shultz.

Chris Clark can. A senior at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., Clark has connected with some very influential American history-makers – just one of the perks of studying at such an elite university. Clark, a former Recon Marine sergeant who earned a Purple Heart in Iraq, will earn his bachelor’s degree in political science in June. Going into his final semester, Clark posted a 3.96 GPA.

Not bad for an enlisted guy who barely made it through high school. 

The Few, the Proud
Clark doesn’t fit the mold of most student veterans studying at the nation’s top universities. One of only six undergraduate student veterans during his first year at Stanford, Clark has shattered more than a few stereotypes on his journey from door-kicker to Stanford honors student.

“The ivy towers of academia are no longer solely reserved for former officers and service academy graduates pursuing their MBAs,” Clark said. “These campuses realize the value and diversity that we bring to campus – be aware of this and view elite universities as legitimate options.”

So what’s his secret?

Determination. Hard work. Discipline. Drive. All skills he honed in the Marine Corps.

“Serving in the military gives you a work ethic that is literally almost non-existent in most colleges,” he said. “It has helped me stay disciplined and on top of all my assignments. The military naturally draws people who are competitive, and having that competitive nature will make you want to do better than everyone around you, especially since they are much younger. I capitalized off this and used it to succeed academically.” 

Inauspicious Beginnings
Clark’s academic career hardly started with a bang. The central California native did poorly in high school, so he enlisted in the Marine Corps in August 2004. There he excelled. Clark earned the coveted title of Recon Marine – an honor he still considers one of his proudest accomplishments – and twice deployed to Iraq with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division.

In April 2006, Clark earned a Purple Heart after suffering minor shrapnel wounds from a suicide bomber in Anbar Province. Yet even the tough times in uniform served him well.

“To be honest, there is nothing that I would like to forget because every part of my experience in the Marine Corps made me who I am today,” he said.

By the time he finished his second tour in Iraq in November 2007, Clark was certain he wanted to earn a college degree. He began researching his options about eight months before he separated from the Marines.

“I received extremely poor grades in high school, so I knew that I would not be a strong candidate for acceptance to a four-year university and would have to attend community college first,” Clark said. 

Great Place to Start
Clark’s brother and his girlfriend – now his wife – both attended Diablo Valley College, a two-year community college in Pleasant Hill, Calif., and they knew the registration and transfer process well. Yet when he landed on campus in August 2008, Clark found himself in a completely foreign world. Campus officials at that time assumed student veterans knew how to tap in to their GI Bill benefits.

“When I first inquired about how to begin my GI Bill paperwork with the Veterans Services Office on campus, their response was riddled with campus-specific terminology and logistical nuances, and I had no idea where to begin,” he recalled. “I had no idea how to schedule an appointment with a counselor, let alone one specific to veterans.” 

Marine Mentor
Clark was unable to get an appointment with a counselor for a couple of months. He couldn’t afford to wait that long. Fortunately, he ran into a fellow Marine veteran who offered the newcomer his counseling appointment for later that day, then ran him through everything he needed to do. It was his first lesson about the value of the military brotherhood.

“Finding other veterans on campus is the surest way to get to know the college process, and they are the best resource for figuring out how to navigate the academic system,” he said. 

Culture Clash
Clark worked hard to succeed academically at Diablo Valley, and his efforts paid off with a 4.0 GPA. Making the social adjustment was more challenging. The 22-year-old found himself surrounded by 18- and 19-year-old civilians who lacked the life experiences he packed into four short years in the Marine Corps.

“My biggest challenge was feeling alienated from my classmates,” he said. “I knew I wanted to major in political science, and many of those classes obviously discuss the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were a lot of young kids with strong opinions, the majority of which were upsetting.”

With two tours of Iraq under his belt, Clark assumed he knew more than his classmates about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Eventually he realized that wasn’t the case.

“Basically, what I came to understand is that while serving in Iraq taught me many things, it did not equate to an academic knowledge of the politics surrounding the war,” he said. “There is a distinct difference here that I initially failed to understand. I was engaged in the political decision to go to war, yet that in and of itself did not mean I understood the politics of war.” 

Raising His Sights
It wasn’t long before Clark found both his social and academic rhythm at Diablo Valley, and his success there inspired him to set his sights high. Not content to simply seek admission to state schools, he applied and was accepted to seven universities, including the University of Chicago and Dartmouth College, one of the oldest Ivy League schools in the nation. And, of course, Stanford – which offered him a full academic scholarship.

“The year that I transferred to Stanford the acceptance rate for transfer students was roughly 1.5 percent,” he said. “Only 20 out of the thousands who applied were accepted. I had reached out to some of the veterans who transferred before me, and got to know them all fairly well prior to even applying. After talking with them, I knew that the undergraduate experience at Stanford was definitely one of the best in the world.” 

Stretching at Stanford
Transferring to Stanford University in September 2010 upped the academic ante for Clark, who found the rigorous curriculum exhausting.

“You definitely adjust to it, but it is always extremely rigorous and time intensive. All I really do is study here, literally all day and all night,” he said. “It gets tedious, and it can definitely be exhausting.”

Again he reached out to his fellow veterans, although now he found far fewer undergraduate comrades on campus at Stanford. Whereas Diablo College had about 250 student veterans, Clark was one of six undergraduate veterans when he transferred. “This definitely made it more of a challenge to feel like I fit in,” he said. “Also, for the most part, the type of kids who come to Stanford are extremely disconnected from the military. They don’t know anyone who has served.” 

Impressive Mentors
One veteran he did connect with was George Shultz, a Marine combat veteran of World War II who, among other notable achievements, served as secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. He is now a Distinguished Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution.

Clark also took a course taught by William Perry, an Army veteran who served as secretary of defense under President Bill Clinton. Shultz and Perry have hosted Clark and other Stanford veterans at their homes on several occasions.

“Basically Shultz and Perry have reached out to the veterans on campus in an attempt to make them feel welcome at Stanford, and take part in many of the military-related events on campus,” he said.

Clark also reached out to Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state for President George W. Bush, when he first arrived on campus and needed to select an adviser.

“Long story short, I decided to go out on a limb and contact Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who is now a professor of political science and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution here at Stanford,” Clark said. “She agreed to be my academic advisor, which has definitely been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and honor.”

When he’s not hanging out with dignitaries, Clark has become friends with the handful of other undergraduate student veterans at Stanford.

“There is an unofficial veterans club,” he said. “Since there are only a handful of veterans here, we basically just hang out when we have time and we are all good friends.” 

Next Greatest Generation
With graduation in sight, Clark already has accepted a position in sales trading at Citi, where he will start as an analyst. Ultimately, he would like to work as a policy-maker in some capacity. Like other members of the next Greatest Generation, Clark’s success story is just beginning. He urges his fellow post-9/11 enlisted veterans to set their sights high.

“This generation of veterans can make a huge impact on our nation in a positive way, and attending elite colleges is one of the surest steps to ensuring this takes place. After being surrounded by tomorrow’s elite and future leaders at Stanford, and after having served with the enlisted men that I did in 1st Recon, I do not hesitate for a second to say that a majority of the enlisted men and women in the U.S. Armed Services would be some our nation’s greatest leaders if given the opportunity,” Clark said. “Education opens doors – but if you have been kicking them in since Fallujah – there is not a soul in America more capable, adaptable and ready to take on the challenges our country faces in the 21st century.” 

Chris Clark
Age: 26
Home town: San Ramon, Calif.
Family: Wife, Danielle Clark 

Education
Stanford University (Sept. 2010-Present)
Year: Senior
Major: Political science, with a concentration in international relations
GPA: 3.96 (through of fall 2011 semester)
Diablo Valley College (Aug. 2008-May 2010)
GPA: 4.0 

Military
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Years of service: Aug. 2004-Aug. 2008
Unit: 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division
Two forward deployments: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Highest rank held: Sergeant
MOS: Reconnaissance Man (0321) 

Military Awards: Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (3), Iraqi Campaign Medal, National Defense Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal. 

What military accomplishment are you most proud of? Earning the title of Recon Marine and serving with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.  

Fondest memory of the military? The close friends that I made and the men that I served with.

1) Clark’s Counsel
Think about what you want to do post-graduation, and make a plan that caters to those objectives. If you want to work in a trade, don’t waste your time and money pursuing a liberal arts degree. Instead, use the GI Bill to help you get the certifications and trade schools you need for whatever job it is you wish to pursue. 

2) Clark’s Counsel
Be realistic about your goals: If you didn’t do well in high school, your best chance of success is enrolling in community college for a couple years and proving that you have matured and can succeed academically, then applying to the university you want to attend. 

3) Clark’s Counsel
Something that every veteran needs to know and remember when using the GI Bill is that it only covers 36 months of academic studies. That means you need to graduate in four years to have your tuition paid for. Make sure you are on top of everything, plan out your classes and follow that plan so you don’t find yourself out of GI Bill funding when you are at a four-year university and have to fork over a massive check out of pocket. 

4) Clark’s Counsel
I can’t stress enough how beneficial it was for me to create a relationship with my professors. I would go in and make up questions to ask even if I didn’t have any. It showed them I was serious about my work, and things like that go a long way when it comes to your final grade.  

5) Clark’s Counsel
Separate your military experience from academics when appropriate. It is not always applicable, and recognize when it is not. What I mean to say is that the correct answer to every question does not always have to come back to your military experience. I have seen a lot of veterans make this mistake; it only serves to further alienate you from your classmates. Try to keep a positive attitude and be grateful that you made it home and have the opportunity to receive a free college education. 
 

Stanford Start-Up
Lance corporal launches a successful software company his junior year at Stanford. 

Guez Salinas and Chris Clark have more than one thing in common. They are both former enlisted Marines, and they both transferred to Stanford University from community colleges – not the typical path most students follow to this elite university.

Salinas, who left Stanford with two bachelor’s degrees when he graduated in spring 2011, has an additional distinction: The double major in political science and philosophy started his own software company his junior year.

Less than a year after graduation, Salinas’ company, Ohm Labs Inc., employs 14 people – including three Marines – at two offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. A second L.A. office is currently on the drawing board. 

No Magic Bullet
Salinas’ “secrets” to success, it turns out, largely parallel Clark’s.

Salinas worked extremely hard, managed his time well and remained disciplined – all intangible skills he mastered in the Marine Corps.

“I was very, very diligent with my time and very, very adamant about scheduling my day,” he said. “And that’s pretty much it. It wasn’t a magic bullet or anything like that. It really, really was time management and discipline.”

Like Clark, he also developed relationships with his professors and teaching assistants and wasn’t afraid to seek help when he needed it. And Salinas leaned on his fellow veterans.

“The discipline goes without saying, and understanding that you have to secure your objective – that goes without saying,” Salinas said. “But I think more importantly just being a Marine and knowing that you had brothers there going through the exact same thing with you now, but in a different environment, made it a whole lot easier.” 

Start-up at Stanford
Once he found his academic rhythm at Stanford, Salinas began working on his start-up. His days started at 4 a.m. and ended at 1 a.m. – surviving on just three hours a sleep per night during his two years on campus.

“But to a Marine, that’s nothing. That definitely was a differentiator,” he said. “And then I understood the importance of team. It would have been hard to fathom if not next to impossible to do it by myself. I had to build, for lack of a better word, a great fire team. And a fire team expanded to a squad and a squad expanded to a platoon. And then before I knew it I was in the last few weeks before graduation and people were throwing millions of dollars at me. To be honest with you, it was so fast and so intense, you barely felt it. It was so painful you didn’t feel it.”

Several years ago, Salinas told his friends he was going to launch the next Google. They chuckled. He used that friendly cynicism to fuel his drive, and he’s never doubted himself.

“The only reason why it happened was because I believed it would, and did the work that was necessary to make it happen,” he said. 

Güez Salinas
Age: 36
Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.

Education
School: Stanford University
Years attended: 2009-2011
Degrees: Bachelor’s degrees in political science and philosophy
GPA: 3.6 

Military
Military branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Years of service: 1994-1998
Unit: 1st Battalion, 4th Marines
Highest rank held: Lance Corporal (E-3)
MOS: Small Arms Technician (2111) 

Start-up
Company name: Ohm Labs, Inc.
Type of company: Software Development
Founded: 2010
# of employees: 14
# of veteran employees: 3 (all marines)