The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1061540
JANUARY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 61 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? "My hometown had brought a bus of people from St. Ignace down to the game," Clement re- called. "My high school coach runs a screen printing company, so they all had 'Krista Clement' shirts on. That was really cool. "The Michigan State games were always the biggest, whether we were playing at Michigan State or at home. It was the biggest crowd we would play in front of. "I had been playing against the girls on the Michigan State team for years, in high school and AAU. It was just such a cool team win with all of those fans there." Clement soon added to her fan base, instructing in the St. Louis public schools via the Teach For America project. Her commit- ment was for two years, and she stayed four in a deeply enriching experience. She taught middle school math and coached middle school basketball and track, the latter two volunteer positions in an urban public school. "It was great," she said. "In a lot of ways, it was eye-opening for me. My students were such impressive people. They had a lot going on at home or in their lives, and they would show up with a smile on their face, wanting to learn. "It was exciting for me to be a consistent figure in their lives. They wanted to see me each day, when they walked up those steps. Me be- ing there for them, believing in them, supporting them … it was the way I could make the most impact." Eventually, she went back to busi- ness school at St. Louis University, picking up the dual degrees of an MBA and a Master's in Educational Lead- ership. Her entrepreneurship course along the way changed the game. It involved creating a business plan, and as it turned out, her final year of MBA work saw her hammer- ing out the details for Helper Helper. Anyone visiting the Helper Helper website (www.helperhelper.com) sees a logo patterned after the bridge near Clement's hometown. "My great-grandfather actually helped raise a lot of the money to build the Mackinac Bridge," she noted. "Helper-Helper is really de- signed to bridge communities. A lot of it was from my Teach For Amer- ica experience, really understand- ing where other people are coming from, building better relationships and supporting each other. The name means helping the helper to get con- nected to places in the community." It's also a nod to her grandmother, who taught her kindness and caring. Clement translated those charac- teristics into action. Helper Helper now involves more than 400 institu- tions, which use the site and the app to facilitate well-coordinated volunteerism. "It might be University of Michigan students going to Mott Children's Hospital or an Ann Arbor elementary school," she said. "Student-athletes can look on their phone, find those oppor- tunities and sign up for them." She's headquartered in Denver, which she loves as an avid skier. Clement heads up a six-person team, still setting the tone like she did as a Michigan captain. "I've grown to like that feel- ing of being outside of my com- fort zone," Clement said. "That's something that happened at Michigan. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, whether it was being the captain or play- ing these very talented Big Ten girls. But I was going to figure it out. "So many times as an entrepre- neur, I'm learning something for the very first time. I'm just grateful I've learned to believe that I'll figure it out. I'll do the research, and I'll rely on my network to get to the next stage of this business." And along the way, she'll help others in ways she'll never fully realize. ❏ Michigan Accomplishments: Became a rare four-year captain at Michigan … Scored 469 points and grabbed 229 rebounds in her career … Added 268 assists and 85 steals, while connecting on 77.3 percent of her free throws … Performed in 111 games for the Wolverines, starting 57. Professional Accomplishments: Taught in the St. Louis public schools via Teach For America after graduating from Michigan in 2008 … Founder and CEO of Helper Helper, an organization facilitating volunteer work involving more than 400 institutions, including schools, non-profits, and various companies. Michigan Memory: "I loved it all. I loved living with my teammates on South State Street. We'd sit on the porch together — usually while everyone else was tailgating — and blast the Michigan fight song as we were getting ready to head to Saturday morning practice. "I loved walking into the academic center after practice and weights. I loved Ann Arbor in the spring and summer. The quietness of campus and the weather keep me going back each year. "I loved the feeling I got walking through the tunnel in Crisler Arena. I loved running onto the floor on game day and standing next to my teammates during the national anthem. I loved spending time with teammates. "When studying was done and practice was over, I'd find myself with a team- mate or two back at the gym late at night. We'd sometimes challenge the men's team to shooting games, which always resulted in some good trash talking and fun. It was a place we all loved. Those nights were the best. "My time at Michigan was special. It taught me perseverance. It taught me the importance of community, and it provided me with my closest friends." Education: Earned a bachelor's degree in general studies with an emphasis in biology in 2008 from Michigan … Garnered dual master's degrees, in business administration and educational leadership, in 2013 from St. Louis University. The Krista Clement File Clement now lives in Denver, where she runs her company Helper Helper, which assists volunteers in finding opportuni- ties to serve their communities. PHOTO COURTESY KRISTA CLEMENT