About Me
Welcome to ClaudiaClement.com. My story
always begins with Guam where most of my memories begin and where my
parents, although originally from the mainland, have resided for the
past 24 years. I haven’t been living on Guam for some time now as I
have been pursuing my education and other adventures but I still
consider myself an island girl at heart and get excited when the
holiday season approaches knowing Guam is just an ocean away, offering
a warm Christmas.
I am most appreciative of the opportunities
life on Guam afforded me during my childhood: enjoying its beautiful
beaches, playing in the boonies with my brother, traveling throughout
Asia with my swim team, filling up on red rice and finedenee at
fiestas, coming home from hours body boarding burnt to a crisp, and
living through typhoons that always brought neighbors and barbeques
happily out onto the streets. The best times!
After high school,
I left Guam for the University of Massachusetts where I earned a BA in
English and played water polo for 4 great years. A month after
graduation I joined the Peace Corps and headed for the Islamic Republic
of Mauritania where I served as a health volunteer for two years. In
the Peace Corps I was given the responsibility of improving the
standard of living through encouraging innovative community planning
and by teaching women and children how to make healthy life choices.
This proved to be a life altering experience both because I learned
much about a culture completely different than my own and because I
came to appreciate the fulfillment that comes with this type of
nonprofit work.
Upon completion of my service I returned to
Guam and worked for one year with Victim Advocates Reaching Out (VARO),
where I served as a Crisis Services Supervisor. Work with VARO
introduced me to some of the darker aspects of life on Guam and an
important field. After a year with VARO, I decided to move to Hawaii to
study Social Work. Before long, just two weeks actually, I realized I
wanted more nonprofit experience before embarking on a masters program
and quickly moved into a position at the American Lung Association of
Hawaii.
I recently left the American Lung Association, after
three years, for graduate school at the University of Oregon. Not
straying far from my non-profit interests, I am pursuing a Masters in
Community and Regional Planning as well as a Certificate in Nonprofit
Management. I hope to continue to grow in this field and be able to
give back to the community that enriched my life growing up.
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