Central MA College Standout: Assumption’s Roger J. Clapp

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Susan Wagner, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Assumption's Roger J. Clapp has personality and drive to match.

Roger J. Clapp is making his mark at Assumption College. This 21-year-old resident of Paxton, Massachusetts is in his senior year. A marketing major and student leader who is the co-chairperson of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) and an Orientation Leader, this college standout has figured out how to embrace life and success simultaneously.

SW: How would you describe yourself in a few lines?

RC: I think I am best described by my personality. I am always happy, always have a smile on my face, and always try to have a fun time and enjoy myself. I am a people person and am definitely not afraid to stand out in a crowd.

SW: How have you taken a leadership role at school?

RC: At Assumption, I think I am a person that most people know and look up to. In high school at Wachusett Regional High School in Holden, I was not really involved in many clubs. It wasn’t until the yearbook superlatives came out that I really realized how much effect I had on people. I was voted class clown, friendliest, best smile, and most school spirit. My personality seems to raise spirits.

At Assumption, I knew I wanted to get involved. After my own summer orientation before my freshman year, I knew that I had to be an Orientation Leader. The Orientation Leaders were a perfect fit to my personality. Also, I knew I had to join CAB because they were the ones giving away all the free t-shirts. I climbed the ladder in both of these organizations, becoming an Orientation Leader for Summer 2012 and an Orientation Executive for Summer 2013. I went from a general CAB member in 2010-11, to the Special Events Executive in ’11-’12, to the Formal Events Executive in ’12-’13, and I am currently the 2013-2014 co-chairperson of CAB.

I believe I was hired to my CAB and Orientation positions because I think I am a true hound (greyhound, our school mascot). I try to take every opportunity Assumption has to offer me, which is why I think I represent the school so well. Assumption teaches its student leaders the art of servant leadership, which is a style of leadership where you put the needs of your community and followers before your own. I think I am an effective leader at Assumption College because I know how to put others before myself.

SW: Describe the career and/or future you envision for yourself.

RC: The future is tricky to think about. There are going to be a lot of jobs and relationships that happen between now and then. However, I hope to have a nice wife and family someday and I would love to be working in event planning. I think it would be really cool to work at a golf or ski resort, or for a concert hall or arena.

SW: What’s your favorite place to go to on campus? In Worcester?

RC: My favorite place to go on campus is my apartment, because I only go there when I am done all of my work for the day so it is where I can finally relax.

SW: What is your favorite book, movie, or series?

RC: I really can’t say no to a great TV series: Homeland, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Arrested Development, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Entourage, The Wire, Shameless, Modern Family…the list goes on; and I’ve seen every episode.

SW: What about a favorite social media site?

RC: Right now I think my favorite social media is Twitter because I always seem to get a good laugh when I check my feed and see what’s going on.

SW: What do you enjoy in your free time?

RC: I fish and golf all spring, summer and fall, and I ski all winter. I’m always down to go hiking or snowshoeing, or do any other kind of recreational sport. I’m also a big fan of first-person shooters on XBox 360 like Call of Duty Ghosts and Battlefield 4.

SW: What piece of technology can you not live without?

RC: I would definitely have to say my laptop. It is the hub of my electronic life. It’s where I do all of my homework, have all my music, edit all of my pictures and videos, and more.

SW: What or who, beyond family, has had the greatest influence on you to date?

RC: I went to public school my whole life until Assumption, which is a private Catholic school. I think spending three and a half years here has really changed who I am as a person compared to looking back at myself as a senior in high school. It is such a friendly and accepting environment.

SW: What would someone be surprised to learn about you?

RC: I was actually a biology major until my second semester of sophomore year. I changed to marketing pretty easily, though, because of how much I enjoyed CAB. Also, I am colorblind. I have horrible eyesight!

SW:How do you rate Worcester as a college city?

RC: I think Worcester is a great college city. There is a movie theater, plenty of bars and restaurants for anyone’s taste needs (and a bunch of froyo places), the DCU Center and Palladium for any kind of show you might want to go to, two hospitals just in case, and there are 10 colleges in the city, so there are a lot of people age 18-21. Worcester is pretty central too, so it is a quick trip to Boston, driving or on the train. I think Worcester is a great city to spend four years of college in as long as you take advantage of what it has to offer you.

GoLocalWorcester presents Central MA College Standout, a weekly feature that profiles college and university students in Central MA. Join us every Tuesday for a look at the careers and lifestyles of today’s local college student. If you have suggestions for a profile, email [email protected].

Susan Wagner is the president of Susan Wagner PR. In this challenging economy, she has begun a new division to offer affordable start-up packages to new and emerging small businesses and non-profit organizations that include professional writing services, websites, collateral, marketing, social media, grassroots outreach and PR campaigns.

Related Slideshow: Top New England Colleges According to Business Insider

See how New England colleges ranked in the latest Business Insider.

Below is the list of how the region's representatives stacked up against each other -- as well as how they fared overall.

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#13 Wesleyan University

Overall Rank: 49

Location: Middletown, CT

Score: 2.73 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $47,244

Business Insider: "With roughly 2,900 undergraduates on a 316-acre campus overlooking the Conn. River, Wesleyan uses its small size to provide highly personal faculty support and customizable programs of study to students.

Business Insider's rating is scored out of 5 and is based on the results of a 1,000-person reader survey that asked how much each college will help students succeed in life. Tuition was used as a tiebreaker, with cheaper tuition pushing a school to a higher spot.

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#12 Boston University

Overall Rank: 45

Location: Boston, MA

Score: 2.79 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $44,910

Business Insider: "A concrete campus located in the bustling city of Boston, BU has nearly 100 study abroad programs in 23 countries, an active social media presence with more than 200 Facebook pages and groups, and 20-plus NCAA Division I varsity sports, including a multiple NCAA national championship-winning hockey team."

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#11 Wellesley College

Overall Rank: 44

Location: Wellesley, MA

Score: 2.86 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $43,544

Business Insider: "Madeleine Albright, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Diane Sawyer are among the nearly 37,000 living alumni of Wellesley College, an institute with an unwavering commitment to empowering women to make a difference in the world. Students are central to decision-making at this liberal arts college: They serve on major committees of the board of trustees, participate in faculty search, and contribute to strategic planning."

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#10 Middlebury College

Overall Rank: 40

Location: Middlebury, VT

Score: 2.94 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $57,075

Business Insider: "Renowned for leadership in language instruction and environmental studies, Middlebury emphasizes close interaction between students and faculty as the core of its education. All courses are taught by faculty members, rather than graduate assistants, and 65% of classes contain fewer than 20 students."

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#9 Tufts University

Overall Rank: 37

Location: Medford, MA

Score: 3.07 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $46,598

Business Insider: "Tufts University encourages students to pursue interdisciplinary studies at its two colleges, the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. An overwhelming 90% of students are enrolled in the first, which boasts a liberal arts college feel in a research-rich environment."

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#8 Boston College

Overall Rank: 36

Location: Boston, MA

Score: 3.09 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $46,088

Business Insider: "Boston College jumps four spots on our list, thanks in part to its tremendous growth in recent years. Undergraduate applications have soared 75% over the past decade, and voluntary giving by alumni has increased the university's endowment to $1.9 billion."

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#7 Amherst College

Overall Rank: 27

Location: Amherst, MA

Score: 3.31 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $58,744

Business Insider: "Ranked the second-best liberal arts school in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report, Amherst College climbed four spots on our list this year."

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#6 Williams College

Overall Rank: 23

Location: Williamstown, MA

Score: 3.40 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $46,600

Business Insider: "Williams was number 27 on last year's list, but our readers voted it up to No. 23 this time around. A top liberal arts college, Williams is set to host its own TEDx conference for students and faculty in January 2014."

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#5 Brown University

Overall Rank: 20

Location: Providence, RI

Score: 3.60 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $45,612

Business Insider: "Brown is known for being the most individualistic of the Ivies, and with some of the happiest students."

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#4 Dartmouth College

Overall Rank: 9

Location: Hanover, NH

Score: 3.96 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $46,752

Business Insider: "At 4,200 enrolled undergraduate students, Dartmouth is the smallest of the Ivies. But its size has no bearing on the prestige of its programs; the school was ranked No. 1 in undergraduate teaching courses by U.S. News & World Report for the fourth year in a row."

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#3 Yale University

Overall Rank: 5

Location: New Haven, CT

Score: 4.25 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $44,125

Business Insider: "Our readers were not shy in praising Yale's hardworking professors: 'Yale is still the best ranking... school thanks to it[s] high profile faculty," one respondent pointed out. 'It's them who keep Yale in the top.'"

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#2 Harvard University

Overall Rank: 3

Location: Cambridge, MA

Score: 4.42 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $42,292

Business Insider: "For the third year in a row, Harvard has held fast at No. 3. Harvard's most popular majors (or "concentrations," as they're called there) are economics and political science, and the Crimson school has been hailed for its think-outside-the-box approach to learning."

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#1 MIT

Overall Rank: 1

Location: Cambridge, MA

Score: 4.5 out of 5

Tuition and Fees: $42,050

Business Insider: "The tech school admits fewer than 9 percent of applicants, some of whom have gone on to achieve prestigious awards like Nobel Prizes, National Medals of Science, MacArthur Grants, and National Medals of Technology and Innovation."