Matt Clark
Name:
Matthew Clark
MSU Degree:
BA in English, 2009
Any other degrees:
JD, Mississippi College School of Law, 2012
Favorite memories of being an undergraduate English major:
- Dr. Marsh’s Literature and Film Class. And that’s not mere flattery. It was an elective with a lot of students inside and outside the major, but Dr. Marsh turned it into a very rich, fun experience.
- Dr. Hagenston’s Freshman Creative Writing Class and Dr. Kardos’s short story class. Through high school my teachers, family, and peers all convinced me I was a wunderkind of written communication. In these classes, I learned I was not. My initial, low-effort offerings were assessed politely but poorly by my professors and classmates. That really stung. But I learned that I could and should actually put some sweat into creative writing. I am still very proud of my final portfolios from those classes. And I also got to meet some other young writers with talent that made me very jealous! (Nick White, now a successful novelist, comes to mind.)
- Dr. Claggett’s classes, especially Victorian Literature. Dr. Claggett was the most entertaining professor throughout my career as a student. Her enthusiasm was infectious, even for stuff like Victorian Lit, in which I had no particular interest. She was also hilarious.
Current Position:
Assistant District Counsel
Organization:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District
When you graduated with a degree in English from MSU, what were your plans for your future? Has your career path mostly realized those early plans, or have you discovered new plans and goals along the way?
I woke up one morning in 2009 to the realization that it was my final semester of undergrad and I had no plans for the future. I didn’t want to teach, so I took the LSAT and did pretty well. That is largely what landed me at Mississippi College School of Law. I did not enjoy law school and felt extremely out of place. I considered dropping out multiple times, but I am very glad I did not. Out of school, I got a position with a local drug court. A few years later I took another position handling child support for Warren County to live near my then-girlfriend, now-wife. Neither of those first jobs were glamorous, but both were incredibly valuable experiences. In 2019, at my wife’s urging, I applied for a federal job with Office of Counsel for the Army Corps of Engineers. I was honestly surprised when I was hired there. I’ve moved around the agency a little, but I’m still with the Corps today. (Note that I, like most Corps employees, am a civilian and have never served in the military.) It is an amazing job, and one I would have never planned for. I owe it entirely to God and to my wonderful, meddling wife.
What is your current occupation, and what does your work mostly consist of?
I am a lawyer in the Office of Counsel at the Vicksburg District of the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is responsible for navigation and flood risk management on federal waterways, so much of the Vicksburg District’s work relates to the Mississippi River. Counsel’s work is very diverse. We handle everything from reviewing construction contracts to representing the agency in employment matters. My workload mostly involves working out agreements with local municipalities for Corps projects, but my co-workers and I help out in other practice areas a lot. It isn’t nearly as dry as it sounds.
Which skills that you learned as an English major do you use most in your job?
Close reading and analysis of a text is the first thing that comes to mind. Dissecting a short story is much more analogous to dissecting some caselaw or the terms of a contract than I would have anticipated. The knowledge of grammar and style from my time as an English major has been very helpful as well. A lot of what we review was drafted by engineers or other technical professionals. It’s amazing how those folks can be bafflingly brilliant but have no idea how to use a comma or draft a coherent sentence.
What additional skills did you need to learn in order to do your job, and how did you learn them?
The knowledge required for my work is extremely specialized. The Corps (along with, I imagine, most federal agencies) does a great job training its employees through both on-the-job and classroom experiences. On a more abstract level, some of the self-confidence and faith I lacked in college were imparted to me through my earlier work at DHS and drug court.
Are there common misconceptions about your career field, which current English majors might share, that you have learned the truth about?
My perception both before and during law school was that lawyers, by necessity, worked excessive hours and had zero work-life balance. I was never cut out for that, and worried I had made a huge mistake. I have found that to be far from the case. While government positions don’t compete with private practice in terms of pay, to my mind they more than make up for it with reasonable hours and benefits. Also, while I felt extremely aloof during law school, I have made some amazing friends in the profession who prefer to talk Tolkien rather than recent administrative law cases. It may be that I’m the one who has changed rather than my surroundings.
In what ways does your career enrich your life and help you to achieve your personal as well as your professional goals?
The aforementioned hours give me plenty of time to spend with my awesome family, be active in my church, and indulge in my myriad of nerdy hobbies (which include occasional attempts at creative writing!) As far as my job specifically, I get a great deal of fulfillment in doing my part in projects that provide a great service for people and for the environment. I have spent my life in Mississippi, and I find it extremely cool and gratifying that my work involves the awesome river that gave our state its name.
What advice do you have for undergraduate English majors right now who might want to follow the career path you did?
Despite how fortunate I have been, I would advise them to start planning much earlier than I did! Take a hard look at law school before you decide to take that path, and if you do decide to take it, then it’s never too early to start networking. Local judges and attorneys love to talk about themselves and their work, so offer to take folks to lunch to discuss the legal field. (Be ready to pay, but a lot of the time they won’t let you and you’ll get to eat for free!) Send thank you notes to the people who meet with you. The legal community is huge, but surprisingly connected, so even if you plan to live somewhere else or you don’t know any attorneys in your desired field, chances are they will have connections just a couple of degrees removed from the sort of work or location you’re looking for.
[Updated September 2024]