Logan Clark now pitches the sale
Logan Clark graduated from Smackover in 2015 with a plan. By the time he graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in December of 2019, the original plan had been changed. Sort of like standing in the batter’s box, expecting a curveball but the fastball comes instead. And you hit it out of the park anyway.
A multi-sport athlete in high school, Clark went to UCA to play baseball.
“My collegiate baseball career at UCA did not quite go as I had planned,” he said. “Although I made many friends that will last a lifetime, I didn’t see the results on the field that I had hoped for. I had a hard time finding my groove that I was so used to having playing high school ball. With that being said, I did have opportunities to pitch during my time at UCA and my most memorable time was getting to pitch against Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt Stadium. That was a really cool experience being able to pitch against competition like that along with the amount of history that stadium held.”
Although his athletic career didn’t turn out the way he had envisioned, Clark said it was beneficial to his success off the field.
“I learned so much about life through the scenarios that I faced, and it taught me so many lessons that I use in my job today,” he said. “College baseball really taught me how to overcome failure and maintain a positive attitude when things don’t go as planned.
Despite not getting to pitch as much I had wanted, I feel that the lessons I learned and the mental toughness that I had to develop during my time at UCA will greatly benefit my overall success in life.”
Clark would go on to graduate with a degree in Health Education with emphasis on Occupational Therapy. He’s currently working for a medical sales company in Little Rock called DePuy Synthes, which is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
“We are a company that sells trauma equipment used in orthopedic surgery which includes plates, screws, nails, etc.,” said Clark. “My responsibilities include assisting surgeons in surgery to ensure that they receive the correct equipment during the procedure. We serve several hospitals in the Central Arkansas area such as UAMS, Baptist (Health), Arkansas Surgical Hospital, Saline Memorial, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and several others.”
No, it’s not the job he dreamed about in high school. It might be better.
“I have definitely been satisfied with where I am professionally. The job I have now has been nothing but a blessing and I am so thankful to be in the position that I am in,” he said. “In my current role, I am considered an Associate Sales Consultant and in five years I hope to be running my own territory.”
Even stories with happy endings feature rocky chapters in the middle. In addition to altering his plans athletically, he made a detour in his academic journey as well.
“Going into UCA, I had the intentions of majoring in Pharmacy and I changed my major after my first semester because I learned very quickly that this was not the type of math that I enjoyed,” he explained. “After having other classes my first semester, I realized that I was more fascinated with the human body and how it worked. This is what lead me to pursue the career path of Occupational Therapy. Once I started taking the prerequisite classes for Occupational Therapy, I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I was taking several classes involving the structure of the human body and the functions of each part. Although I decided to choose medical sales as my profession, the information I learned about the anatomy of the human body gave me a head start on the job I have now where knowing anatomy is a crucial.”
Although the plan for his future was tweaked a bit, Clark’s foundation was always solid. One of the building blocks was sports, competing and overcoming obstacles. The skills and lessons learned on the field of play transfer into the professional world.
“Being a competitive athlete helped me both academically and professionally. While I was in school, I always wanted to have the highest GPA possible and I never wanted to be in a situation where I did not know the answer to something. My competitive nature always drove me to be the best that I could be and that is what allowed me to maintain the GPA I wanted each semester,” he said. “This same drive has helped me tremendously in my professional career as well. Sales, in itself, is competitive no matter what type of sales it is. In my current job, I have noticed that a lot of athletes are working in this field and I believe that is due to the competitive nature of the job and the relationships you are able to develop with people. It has driven me to study more than I ever have and become the best salesman that I can be.”