When Tyler Clark was in college, he had one goal in mind for where he’d work when he graduated: HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
Meet Tyler Clark
Tyler grew up near Birmingham, and when it was time to decide where to study, he chose The University of Alabama in Huntsville, a college close enough to visit family but far enough to be a new living experience. He began by studying engineering, but after a professor encouraged him to enter a business competition, he found a passion for entrepreneurship and changed his major. It was during his second business competition that he was introduced to HudsonAlpha and the work it was doing.
When he was nearing his graduation, Tyler received an internship offer at the company he’d been spending his last few years dreaming of working for, but then, in March 2020, the summer internships were officially canceled because of the pandemic.
“I really wanted to work there, so I called the person managing the internships at HudsonAlpha and asked: ‘Can I get a job anyway? I can sweep, I can mop, I just want to get in the door,’” Tyler explains. The internship manager recommended he sign up for the employment agency that supplies HudsonAlpha’s janitors.
After a few months of working at the temporary employment agency at an apartment complex, a job opened up for a janitor at HudsonAlpha, and Tyler took it. Through his role, he met a chief science officer from one of the campus’ companies and began doing consultation work. He was hired as an intern, all before his college graduation. After he graduated, HudsonAlpha hired him full-time.
The HudsonAlpha mission
HudsonAlpha, located in Huntsville, has three mission areas: research, educational outreach, and economic development. It is most well-known for research, which is typically in the realm of human health and agriculture and plant genomics. Faculty investigators at HudsonAlpha focus on scientific research. The second branch, educational outreach, focuses on building future bioscience workforce candidates for the state.
The third mission, and the realm that Tyler works in, is economic development. Each day looks different, with parts of the job including recruiting life science companies to the campus and providing the talent those companies need when they decide to move to HudsonAlpha. There’s also entrepreneurship: Tyler and his team might work with individuals who have ideas to flesh them out into companies and products.
A major part of Tyler’s job is helping people see why they should choose Alabama, and specifically Huntsville and HudsonAlpha, for their company.
“Part of what Huntsville and Alabama can provide is the fact that we are great at being connectors, introducing people to the community and getting them tapped in very early,” Tyler shares. “And then obviously once you get them here, you get to show them the outdoors, which is a huge piece of it.”
Why Tyler loves Alabama’s outdoors
Tyler knows a thing or two about experiencing Alabama’s outdoors. When he isn’t on HudsonAlpha’s campus, he’s spending as much time outside as he can. Ask him what he likes to do, and you’ll realize there isn’t much he doesn’t love to explore. Hiking, backpacking, biking, caving and more.
“What I like about Alabama is the fact that I can drive or ride my bike 15 minutes this way, and I’m in this untouched paradise,” he says. “It’s not like I have to go really far to see these beautiful areas. In Alabama, it all feels a lot more integrated, and you’re always surrounded by nature.”
He already loved hiking and biking throughout Alabama’s outdoors, and his newest hobby is caving. Through caving, he’s discovering even more Alabama hidden gems near him. While caving requires practice and some background knowledge, it can be a great way to experience Alabama’s beauty.
“I took this picture of my buddy repelling in Stephen’s Gap, and it was the most incredible picture I’ve ever taken in my entire life,” he shares. “You have the waterfalls dripping down and the white halo around them, and it’s just the perfect silhouette of him floating in the sky.”
How to seek Alabama
It’s moments like these that make life in Alabama stand out: the experiences you share with friends, discovering a hidden gem that may just be 15 minutes away but transports you to a different place.
Tyler’s advice for people who aren’t familiar with Alabama or who want to begin exploring? “You have to do some exploring on your own. You can find a lot of cool stuff that isn’t immediately obvious, so be willing to explore and be willing to ask locals.”
And why Alabama? “You get the beauty of the beaches, you get the beauty of the mountains out here. You kind of get everything in between. Caving, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing. It’s one of the few states where you can actually do everything.”
