I am AWESOME!! Survey :: Kaylie Clark

Your name and age:
Kaylie Clark! Age 24

Your parents names:
Neal and Chris Clark

If you have children, how many? Names and ages.Nope!! Need a man first. Anyone want to help me with that?

If you’re married, what is your spouses name and how did you meet?  

Hmm not yet--but I hope he is a stealthy FBI agent and I stumble upon evidence and help him solve a crime! And he is blown away by my investigation skills and one thing just leads to another...

 

If you’re in school what grade are you in, what is your favorite thing about school, what is your least favorite thing about school? 

I am between schools: Just got a BA in International Relations from BYU and in a few years I will find a grad school to attend--considering quite strongly the field of positive psychology (emphasizing in quantitative research methodologies. I LOVE the incredible things you can learn from numbers. Research is discovery!) 

One of my favorite thing about school is the personal enrichment I can add to my life with learning. I love when new information can burst my paradigm and show me that the world is, in some ways, far different than I initially assumed! I think every piece of information can contribute meaningfully to creating a proactive life that I get to intentionally shape in the pursuit of greater and greater ability to bless people around me. 

I am especially excited about positive psychology because as I have come to understand my own brain in cultural and biological contexts, I have gained more and more power to choose who I want to be and how I react to things. I am passionately in love with human redemption stories, and I want to spread my experiences of how building positive character traits and becoming skilled in understanding and responding to emotion can completely turn around the negative aspects of a person's character and, as I found, give me control over the woman I want to be. I'm really excited to study this in the context of economic and social welfare systems: how different systems affect this aspect of human well being. I particularly want to study the family's role in this, and how that role is supported or hindered by social, economic, and political systems. This is why I love school the most--it gives me the power to find out how I can bless the world in the best way I can!

How would you describe yourself? 

 I am a passionate young woman who craves new experiences and new ideas. I am independent and insist on doing what I believe is right regardless of external pressures. I'm probably overly optimistic because I always think there is a way to achieve anything, solve any problem, or choose a lifestyle more consistent with my internal values in spite of large barriers. Consequently you may see me chase after preposterous ideas, but so far I've made it work. I think I'm full of unique ideas that may seem strange at first and might take some time to understand. I'm also loving living in Washington, DC and enjoying the single life! There are so many rich experiences and people to get to know.  Ultimately I think I'd consider myself a proactive woman who is intentional about who I am and how I live. Also a definite relationship-oriented people lover.

 

Where did you go to college? What did you major in? 

Oh-- see above, I when to BYU and graduated in 2012 with  BA in International Relations. Graduate school to come!

 

If you went on a mission, where? 

Nope! My life is a mission. There is always good that I am needed to do.

Where were you born and raised? Where do you live now? 

Born in West Jordan, Utah. Raised in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains just outside of Sacramento, California. The weather was so good (minus rainy winters)! The last six years of my life I was at BYU in Provo). Now, I live in Washington,DC! It is an incredibly fun city with so much to do and interesting people to meet!

What is your favorite place you have visited - or place you would like to visit? 

I loved the French countryside. Hard to pick a favorite, but Normandy was amazing. Great weather and beautiful beaches. The D-day monuments were very moving. Loved Point du Hoc (here the marines scaled a muddy seaside cliff next to Omaha beach to overtake German bunkers. A perilous task): the terrain of the battle there was preserved and fresh grass and flowers grew over broken bunkers and craters from explosions. A moving juxtaposition of the beauty of peacetime overlaid on the site of a horrific battle.

What is your favorite food? 

Thai curry or sushi. One of my life hobbies will be to travel all over the world and eat all of the food. Trying new foods is one of my favorite things! DC is amazing for this! I've had Afghan, Ethiopian, Turkish, Venezuelan and others so far in the few months I've been here. Mediterranean (fresh pitas and good hummus with middle-eastern style veggies and meats) has been a favorite go-to for my lunches.

What is your favorite book, movie or both. 

 Hard one. Book: Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl or The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute for Conflict Resolution. These books fully shape my outlook on life--they give me an excuse to assume the best in people and think kind thoughts about others and to fill my life with meaningful pursuits. They helped me more accurately understand other human beings whoa re different from me and more effectively engage those differences, overcoming conflict, and learning from what they see that I don't. They have taught me how to work well with people. Incredibly empowering.  

I haven't seen enough movie's to pick a favorite. I love Amazing Grace! I want to be William Wilberforce.

 

What music do you like to listen to? 

 Indie Dance Pop. Lol, ask me if you don't know what that is. I love interesting unique sounds with a funky beat. Try YouTube for Empire of the Sun, Phoenix or Two Door Cinema Club. Daft Punk is glorious! And I love Metric--though that's more indie alternative. Not really dance pop.

 

What is your occupation? What would your dream job be? Or what do you want to be when you grow up?  

I am currently a workforce development research assistant at a nonprofit social science research firm called the American Institutes for Research. We use psychology, sociology, and other research methods to investigate issues of social well being including heatlhcare, education, international development, human development, and workforce development. I get to use statistics! We contract projects to private companies and the government. Right now I am helping to create and update a high-stakes nation-wide college entrance exam (that some of you may end up taking!) and I am also on a team that is examining the airport security process for the Transportation Security Administration m order to evaluate and improve its effectiveness. Cool stuff to do in DC!

My dream job is to be a University Professor of (maybe) positive psychology. I LOVE teaching. I LOVE research. I LOVE studying and working with human beings. Being a TA for a statistical research class at BYU was my favorite job. The relationship you build with students is so rewarding, and I love to be a mentor to them. I'm also dying to do research because there is so much good that can be done in the world with new knowledge that comes from it. I want to study work-life balance, and my dream job would not be complete without an active role in speaking and publishing on and encouraging work-life balance policies for companies that I evaluate in my research. I'd love to head my own research, advocacy, and consulting firm on work-life balance at the same time. Geez, I hope I live forever. 

I am dying to help workers better manage their time with their employer and with their families. I want working dads and moms to have more freedom to be more involved with their family. I want to make it easier for families with two working parents to spend time together and all meet each others' needs. I have been doing research on this the past few years that is going into a book I am writing with a BYU professor, and I have been ecstatic to discover the wealth of options and the growing field of research!

What are some things that you enjoy doing?  

Yoga, singing, piano, thinking, psychology, fashion, sewing, statistics, thought experiments, trying new foods, smartness competitions with boys, and going on outings with good friends. The beach!!!

 

Do you have any special talents or things you’re learning to do? 

 I've almost got the hang of a handstand! I'm learning computer programming right now.

 

What is a goal you have? 

 Live and work in France for a few years and live and work in Scandinavia for a few years.

 

What is your pet peeve? 

chewing gum, ugh. i can't even capitalize it.

 

Have you been on any adventures?

 On one right now, trying out the East Coast. At my last internship I'd often hear sirens and look out the window to see a procession of armored vehicles running down Pennsylvania Avenue carrying the President or other high-level dignitaries. As an intern at the Council on Foreign Relations I attended many meetings with top policy thinkers and government officials, including the ambassador of Japan and the Presidents/Prime Ministers of several African countries. I went to the state department with my senior fellow and he wanted to take me up to the top floors to see the Secretary's (Hillary Clinton's) office! But we were sad to be informed that our meeting was actually in a different building. Bummer! I recently took a beach vacation with a bunch of friends to North Carolina and saw where the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane! I decided I must live near the beach. 

 

Something you’re afraid of?

 Falling from a crumbling bridge over open water or a being room full of thousands of scurry spiders. Combine the two for a mega-nightmare (my brain did that to me once when I was falling asleep. It was awful).

 

What was your most funny or embarrassing moment? 

 I have had a little crush on a guy I asked to dance at a ward swing dance a few months ago. I tried to teach him a fancy move and I ended up elbowing him square in the face. It was even worse when I did it again to the next guy I danced with. 

 

What is your best quality? 

 My dedication to living an intentional life and living how I believe is right, regardless of what others think.

Share an interesting fact that we don’t know about you.  

I have to wear snuggies at work because one of my research rooms is sooo cold.