Clark Hill speaks clearly, his eyes locked on yours. He’s tall, with an athletic build. His hair, once a curly tumble, is clipped short. He answers questions with a crisp but respectful “Yes, sir.” At age 31, he stands at the crossroads of youth and experience, each enhancing the other. Without even trying he projects a sense of who he is and why he’s here.

“Up until just a few years ago, I hadn’t really found myself. I was a young parent with two kids and a wife. I excelled at every job I got but every day I walked out of my house feeling like I wasn’t doing anything with my life. But even then I knew what it meant to leave your mark on the world. I knew I wouldn’t be here today without my parents. We weren’t a wealthy family but they helped me in every way. My dad worked for 25 years in a prison; he hated it but he did it so we could live comfortably.”

He glances downward but just for a second. “So I kept searching for something I could achieve, some mark I could leave. That would be the greatest thing I could do for my kids.”