Spring — 2005

Chauncey McClain

Associated Students / Inter-Club Council Vice Chair

“I was in the Black Collegians Club—the BCC—and they’re the reason I’m here at SMC. What you need to do is surround yourself with motivated people who are going somewhere.”

“Sherri Bradford is the coordinator of the BCC, and she just stood me up and told me, ‘I wanna get you outta here,’” recalls Chauncey McClain with a laugh. “She showed me the ropes and got me headed along the right track. But all the counselors in the BCC were like that: They didn’t sugarcoat nothin’! Sometimes it felt like they were all gangin’ up on me,” says Chauncey, chuckling at the memory. “They really pushed me and gave me a lot of tough criticism. But it was all positive criticism, and I respect that.”

In his role as ICC Chair, Chauncey reports, “I coordinate events for all the student clubs and I’m basically their ‘voice’ on campus. When clubs need something, they come to me. And it’s my job to give them all the help and support that I can. It’s really the clubs,” he continues, “that kept me in school. And it feels really good to be able to help out other people the way I was helped.”

Chauncey states, “Not going to college was never an option for me, because I have a mother who is very, very demanding. I guess I’ve got a lot of tough women around me,” he says, reflecting on his good fortune. “But I know that as long I’ve got ’em in my corner, everything’s gonna turn out all right.” Chauncey says that it’s his goal to become expert in the Byzantine world of contract law. “I already deal with a lot of contracts through my AS position, and I find it very rewarding,” he says. And he offers this ‘contract’ to SMC students: “If you join one of the clubs here, you’re gonna be with a lot of people who share your drive. And going through these years at SMC—together—is very fulfilling.”

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