By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

Penny Clark, a Campbell County Schools employee, received her bachelor's degree from Northern Kentucky University recently, 38 years after her first college course. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

When Campbell County schools break today for the summer, Penny Clark of Alexandria will have completed her 36th year working for the district.

That's about three decades longer than she planned on working as the superintendent's administrative assistant.

"I said, 'Yeah, I need a job. I'll take this one, then get something else and move on,' " said Clark, recalling the day in 1967 that she decided to go to work for then-Superintendent Charles McCormick.

While she didn't get "something else," she did move on.

Clark, 56, graduated magna cum laude from Northern Kentucky University recently with a bachelor's degree in anthropology. The mother of two and grandmother of four earned the degree 38 years after taking her first college course.

"I made a promise to myself in 1967 that someday I would finish college," Clark said. "Nobody in my immediate family had gotten a degree. I did this for me and for them."

Clark said she's a "true coal miner's daughter," born in a coal camp in Wheelwright, Ky., near the Virginia border.

She attended Cumberland College for two years before her husband, Wayne, was hired in 1967 to teach chemistry at Campbell County High School.

Clark, 20 at the time, quit school to move with her husband and work as McCormick's assistant. McCormick was the first of nine superintendents she would work for.

In 1996, with her two sons grown and Wayne close to retirement, she decided it was time to make good on her promise of going back to school.

"The toughest part was making that decision to do it," said Clark. "The worst part of the whole seven years was walking into that first class. But I was immediately hooked."

Because she hadn't taken a course in nearly 30 years, Clark had to start college all over again.

She enrolled at NKU and decided to major in business, the same major she declared at Cumberland College. But less than a month after starting school, she switched to anthropology.

"I registered late and had to pick up a general class. Anthropology was one of the few left," said Clark.

"After taking the class for three weeks, I said, 'What am I doing in business administration? I have 30 years in business administration.' So I changed my major."

Clark took classes two or three nights a week for seven years. While she was older than most students in her classes, it was her work ethic that stood out.

"Some people just come in, take a class, then rush back to work," said MaryCarol Hopkins, anthropologist at NKU. "Penny is special in that she was very engaged in class. She was perceptive, persistent, and went beyond the assignments."

Hopkins cited a research paper Clark worked on for a semester last year as an example of her going beyond what was asked.

Clark's research entailed studying the culture of a preschool class for 16 weeks. After the project was over, Clark continued to observe the preschool class. She then gave oral presentations of her research this year at three state science and anthropology conferences, and won first place in a research paper competition.

Clark finished college with a 3.89 grade-point average. She won the NKU Award of Academic Excellence in Anthropology from the faculty department in 2002, is a member of two national honor societies, and was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel last week at a school board meeting.

"Anything she gets, she deserves tenfold," said Campbell County Superintendent Roger Brady. "It's amazing how she's been able to do this job, take classes at night and have any semblance of a home life. It's remarkable that she's been able to do this."

While Clark's focus at NKU was in cultural anthropology, she said she has a love for archaeology. She said going for her master's degree in archaeology is "in the realm of possibilities.

"I'll stay (with the district) for no more than a couple more years. I want to get on with my life and pursue other things," said Clark, who also manages the district office.

E-mail williamcroyle@yahoo.com