Black history month: Shifting the conversation with Camille Clark

At Sabre, we are committed to embracing and celebrating our diversity. In this inclusion & engagement series, Shifting the Conversation, our people share their stories to engage in open dialog and shed light on their broad, rich and unique perspectives. In celebration of Black History Month, this blog highlights the meaning of curiosity, courage and conviction, penned by Sabre’s Camille Clark, an active member of the Black Generations of Leadership and Development (BGOLD) inclusion group. BGOLD provides Sabre’s black population an opportunity to come together and grow while amplifying a unique cultural point of view.

When I think about Black History Month, I think about three things: curiosity, courage and conviction. I have a strong sense of curiosity. This made sense as a kid, but it hasn’t gone away as I’ve gotten older. For example, I chose to study Marketing Research in grad school. Studying research taught me how to analyze business problems by asking questions and gave me an outlet for my curiosity. In my personal life, this manifests in time spent learning and documenting my family history. During Black History Month, Black heroes are often written from the vantage point of the courage and the resulting achievements of people who lived before us – whose stories might otherwise not be told.

I’ve learned a lot about my family story through my family research. My parents were also kind enough to hand down some of my grandparents’ personal belongings including letters to their spouses and newspaper clippings. Two of the most remarkable stories I’ve learned are about my grandmothers and what they have in common.

My grandmothers were born in the south – Louisiana and North Carolina. They both came from big families and moved north to New York to start their own families after getting married. They both had daughters born in February and gave them names that begin with the letter “V.” They both had careers while raising their children, and when their youngest children were nearing the end of high school, they each decided it was time for a change. They both enrolled in classes at colleges in neighboring boroughs and completed their undergraduate degrees well into their fifties. They made the courageous decision to pursue a degree to enhance their careers. They sacrificed the familiarity of their situations, explored their curiosity, and rested on the conviction to change for growth.

Forty years later, while also living in New York, I made the very same decision about my career. I went to grad school with hopes of enhancing my professional development. This decision ultimately brought me back home to the south, more specifically Dallas, TX, and that’s how I ended up at Sabre – where I continue to flex my curiosity and take on ambitious challenges with courage and conviction.

Getting to know the history of my family and my grandmothers has taught me a lot of things. As I reflect on my own family stories, I’m thankful to my grandmothers for the inheritance of curiosity, courage and conviction that brought me where I am today.

Sabre is shifting the conversation with stories from passionate and bold inclusion group members. At the heart of our inclusion & engagement efforts, our eight inclusion groups, and counting, aim to amplify the voices of our team members and create a sense of belonging for all. Together, we celebrate diversity, applaud individuality and embrace unique perspectives to empower our global team members to bring their true selves to work every day. Learn more about our inclusion & engagement mission.