Alumnus Jake Clark to Serve as Distinguished Guest Speaker at Pepperdine Veterans Day Luncheon
“I always wanted to work in the Secret Service presidential detail,” says Ronald “Jake” Clark (MBA ’19). “I felt as though I was made to do that, but in fact, I’ve been put on earth to help people in service when the wheels come off.”
Each day 20 veterans take their own life. Over the last 45 years, 263,000 former soldiers
have died of suicide. Since 2012 Clark has committed his time to developing and leading
Save A Warrior (SAW)—an immersive intervention to support active-duty military, veterans,
and first responders struggling with mental health concerns. As the organization’s
president and founder, Clark has built a program that allows combat- and trauma-hardened
individuals to overcome the mental barriers blocking their cognitive and emotional
well-being. By blending together psychology, trauma therapy, and elements of Joseph
Campbell’s hero’s journey, Clark has created a method to mitigate the staggering veteran
suicide rate in the United States.
This Veterans Day, November 11, 2024, at 12:30 PM, Clark will serve as the distinguished guest and keynote speaker at Pepperdine’s annual Veterans Day Luncheon at the Brock House on the Malibu campus. Hosted by the Office of the President and Pepperdine Veteran Affairs, the University community is invited to celebrate veterans in the Pepperdine community and beyond as well as honor Clark’s efforts to support veterans during the most challenging times in their lives.
A former uniformed Secret Service division officer, police officer, criminal investigator, FBI special-agent, and captain in the United States Army Reserve, Clark formulated his idea to help veterans while a student at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School. There, in the midst of class, he realized his vocational call.
“Professor Mark Chung laid the groundwork for an ‘aha’ moment in my life,” says Clark. “He gave me the language I needed to describe my purpose. I knew there was a problem with veteran suicides, and professor Chung gave me access to a world to explain my intent from a philosophical and business perspective.”
Struck by this sudden revelation, Clark launched SAW during a brief leave from Pepperdine’s MBA program and began to home in on the psychological issues affecting veterans. While fine-tuning the program’s curriculum, Clark found that the average Adverse Childhood Experience Score (ACES) of SAW participants was seven—the same score as most convicted felons. This understanding guided him as he and his program’s co-creators began to walk alongside recovering individuals.
“People with high ACES scores do not willingly walk into support groups or seek out help,” says Clark. “They would rather be in a full-fledged firefight than go into a space where their trauma is going to be revealed. SAW breaks down those barriers. We help people realize everything they are looking for is already inside them.”
Today SAW offers veterans and first responders relief in the form of a three-day retreat
program. During this 72-hour experience, Clark and his team of fellow former warriors
help those grappling with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder identify,
process, and move beyond the original source of trauma. Participants leave the retreat
with long-term practices to reinforce their experience and newfound perspectives.
“Jake and his team at Save A Warrior are making a huge impact; serving and helping individuals in their journey toward healing, self-discovery, and transformation.,” says Eric Leshinsky, director of student veteran affairs at Pepperdine University and a retired United States Air Force colonel. “What a great example of George Pepperdine’s vision that education should include the right outlook on life, a realization of our responsibility to society, to our country, and to God. We’re so excited to have Jake as our guest speaker at this year’s Veterans Day luncheon.”
To learn more about the Veterans Day Luncheon and to register, visit the Veterans Day Luncheon website.