Mature Beyond His Years, Alabama Signee Ronnie Clark Prepares for Next Step

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A senior at Calera High School in Alabama, Ronnie Clark was forced to grow up very early. His mother had been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and by the time Clark was 14, her condition worsened. Soon, due to muscle deterioration, his mother required assistance walking, changing clothes, bathing, and completing many daily tasks. Complicating matters, Clark’s father was frequently out of town, working as a train conductor for BNSF Railway.

“At a very early age Ronnie had to take on a huge responsibility, he had to step up and be the man of the house,” his mother, Kimberly Clark, said. “When you asked him to do something, he doesn’t pitch a fit about it, he doesn’t argue about it, he doesn’t get upset, he just does it. … Over the years his character has built up and we’ve always taught him to make sure you help somebody else. It’s not all about you, it’s all about you helping somebody else.”

Not only did Clark never complain to his parents, he found something invaluable in his challenging home life.

“You want to be able to have fun and be with your friends, and not worry about that,” Clark said. “But it helped me mature a little as I got older. Now I know what responsibility is, to take care of all those things, playing football, getting good grades, doing everything else.”

As if that weren’t enough responsibility, Clark’s grandmother, Gertrude Gayden, moved in with his family as she battled a brain tumor.

“My mom was 82 years old at the time,” Ronnie Clark Sr. said. “My mom could hardly walk. … You don’t find too many young kids that would give their grandmother a bath, pick her up out of the tub, dry her off, help her put her clothes on, and pick her up, and put them in the bed. I know grown people that wouldn’t do that. By him doing all that, he made my job a lot easier, because I had to support the family.”

Somehow, between cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and caring for both his mother and grandmother, the younger Clark found time to excel in school. He currently holds a 3.6 grade-point average and is one of the most respected students on campus

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