It was an accident when then-teenager Priscilla Clark was put into an ROTC class at her California high school.
“I thought, ‘This is the only thing available? Really?’” Clark says.
But the structured style of the military corps appealed to Clark, who had a tumultuous family life during the early part of her childhood. She engaged herself in drill team, honor guard and Explorers.
The activities were the perfect set up for a future that would take her across the United States to serve as an officer with the Plant City Police Department.
SETTING THE TONE
Clark grew up 30 minutes north of Baja, Mexico, in sunny California, but her early years were marked by clouds. Her biological father was an alcoholic.
“We were dirt, dirt poor,” Clark says. “He drank all the money.”
Because of his problem, Clark’s mother spent most of her time working to support the family.
As the oldest of six siblings, Clark stepped in to take her mother’s place at home. There were many times Clark had to leave school on her lunch break and ride her bike 3 miles to pick up her little sister from her school. Clark would then drop her off at her grandmother’s home and return to her classes.
“I was responsible for my brothers and sisters,” Clark says. “I had to set the tone.”
When Clark’s parents divorced and her mother remarried a farmer, things got better.
“He saved us,” Clark says. “That’s where we learned to be a family.”
The family dynamics were typical of Hispanic tradition. The boys worked outside and the girls did the housework. So when Clark got involved with ROTC when she was 15 and decided she wanted to go into law enforcement, it was hard for her new dad.
“He said, ‘You have no business being a police officer,’” Clark says.
But she fell in love with her high school sweetheart at 17, and her dreams of entering the force were put on hold. They married and had three kids.
When her youngest was 3, the family moved across the U.S. to Florida, where her husband had gotten a job in Winter Haven. It only took three years in Florida for a familiar interest in law enforcement to come back to her.
As her kids entered school, Clark went to work as an emergency dispatcher in Winter Haven. She was also sponsored to go to the academy.
Her first beat as a new police officer was with the Lake Wales Police Department. From there she worked for the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. But she missed working for a small department .
When a position opened up with the Plant City Police Department, she jumped at the chance.
PAYING IT FORWARD
As the community redevelopment area officer, Clark walks the streets of Historic Downtown Plant City. She stops in shops to check in with storeowners, started a bike registration program for the homeless and helps with the Friends in the Park dinner program, which feeds the homeless and needy every night at the Winter Visitor Center.
“I like that I wear several different hats,” Clark says. “I reach out to kids … I work with the homeless. It’s about paying it forward.”
She has come to know many of the dinner program patrons by name, and she knows most of their stories.
“One guy bikes from Turkey Creek Road,” Clark says. “They’re so sweet. I don’t care what they’ve done in the past. As long as they behave while they’re there.”
They know about her too. When she didn’t show up at the dinners for a couple of days earlier this month, some of the patrons inquired about her absence. They learned she was having surgery and prayed for her.
“That touched my heart,” Clark says. “I tell them, ‘I’m like you. Just in uniform.’”
About Priscilla
Who is your hero?
My children are my heroes. They went through tough times when their father and I divorced, and they came out ahead and successful.
Use three words to describe yourself.
Giggly (I try to make light of situations), happy and appreciative.
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
I am not a morning person. At all. At all. My husband is a morning person. I have to force myself to sleep. If I work 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. that’s perfect.
What is the weirdest food you’ve tried?
Tripe. I was a kid and didn’t know any better. I was running around eating it in a burrito. It was rubbery. I had to pull it with my teeth.
What message would you put in a fortune cookie?
Live in the moment.
Tips for success?
• Work hard. Have a good work ethic.
• Prioritize yourself, but still make time to help others.
• Take care of oneself. We get so caught up with everything, not just as mothers but as women. We work hard and put ourselves last. It goes against the grain to take care of ourselves first. And that’s OK sometimes.
— Amber Jurgensen