“There are too many things to be happy about and delight in,” said English professor Mark Clark, who lives by this philosophy.

A former officer in the Navy, Clark has appeared on NBC’s “The Today Show” with his Navy Glee Club, commanded 70 sailors at sea who once escaped a swarm of hammerhead sharks and still corresponds with his former Navy roommate, who went on to be an astronaut. And things only picked up from there.

After a few years of being the person that sailors came to for advice, Clark said he realized he would love to help people full time. He was reminded of his desire, as a student at Saint Louis University High School, of becoming a Jesuit and decided to pursue that path.

After serving as a Jesuit Scholastic for seven years, Clark, the youngest of six, said he thought about how wonderful his childhood had been and realized he wanted a family of his own someday. He still loved teaching, but decided becoming a Jesuit wasn’t for him.

Things fell into place while teaching at a local high school, where his wife, Liz, was a counselor. They now have a daughter, Stephanie.

Clark has been a professor of English at SLU for more than a decade and tries to inspire his students every day. He loves every aspect of teaching, even grading, and often finds himself missing his students during breaks.

“Grading papers is an interesting thing,” he said. “I get a stack of them and I don’t want to start . but once I get into them, I’m almost always pleasantly surprised and find myself really engaged. It’s always interesting what people come up with.”

Clark thinks students at SLU differ from others.

“There’s a sense of respect, maybe even reverence, for each other and a sincere delight in one another that I think it is fundamentally grounded in a Jesuit spirituality,” he said.

A sort of student for life, Clark loves reading books and learning. He helped develop a new certificate program at SLU in Medical Humanities, and is in the process of writing his first book on the subject of ethical listening.

“People are always talking over each other, interrupting,” he said. “It’s a constant modeling of non-listening, but listening is really an important thing.”

Clark developed a good ear for music at a young age, having performed in choir all throughout his schooling. His love of music harmonized with a love of language, which is why he concentrates on and respects the rhythms and sounds of language.

In addition to music and language, Clark said he also enjoys art. Displayed in his office are two framed pieces he created himself, modeled off of images he saw in The New Yorker.

He said he also loves to laugh.

“I laugh very easily,” he said. “I don’t like jokes. I like more spontaneous, sort of one-liners . My grandmother recognized how important humor was I think I’ve kind of taken that onboard. I take delight in people’s quirkiness and individual personalities.”

In high school, fellow classmates recognized that zeal for life in him, and he was voted as the first recipient of the Ed Hawk Award, which is presented to a student who most influences his class for cooperation through love and dedication to SLU High. This, Clark said, was his proudest moment and that honor and recognition has inspired him to always seek to treat people exceptionally.