Remembering Taylor Rose Clarke: Reflecting on her impact and legacy
Photo courtesy of @taylorclarke_ on Instagram
Today, readers of The Hofstra Chronicle have the privilege of reading a newspaper with prestige, reach and power. This effect is backed by the relentlessly dedicated work of Taylor Clarke, who put blood, sweat and tears into its content up until her final moments here with us. Her passion for her craft, commitment to her community and mighty pen were unparalleled. With Taylor at the helm, The Chronicle was firing on all cylinders. She worked with grace, candor, patience and love – and it seeped through every page of every issue.
Having worked closely with Taylor as co-editors, I can tell you her work was motivated by pure belief in its importance and compassion for others. Having gotten to know Taylor even more personally, it became quickly apparent that most everything she did in her life was driven by these values. In her short time here, she has done more good than most people do in a lifetime. Not only has she touched lives through her words and reporting, but Taylor has physically saved dozens, if not hundreds of lives through her activism in encouraging organ donations and being an organ donor herself.
While the rest of the office dreaded the inevitably long and exhausting layout nights, Taylor showed up excited and eager every time. Taylor, the recipient of a heart transplant, referred to her days as gifts. She knew very well each day that she was given a second chance at life. Despite the immense pressure, time and energy (many sleepless nights) that went into being an editor, Taylor showed up smiling. I’ll always remember how bewildered I used to be looking at her joyously editing away at 3 a.m. on a school night. It’s a philosophy we can all learn from, and no one knew it better than Taylor – each day is a gift.
Today, we all miss Taylor. We are confused and angry that she was taken from us way too soon. But look at it Taylor’s way: what a privilege that we can say we knew her, and what a gift everyday spent with her has been. The truth is that when you live life the way Taylor did, you stick around. Taylor is with us through her philanthropy, through those who received an organ because of her activism, through the person who received the organ she donated, through those she inspired, through those who benefitted from her stories and reporting, through those who she made smile in the office, through the words on this page and through the many people who will continue to be impacted by the unwavering trajectory of The Hofstra Chronicle. They’ll have Taylor to thank.
- Katie Krahulik, Managing Editor, Class of 2019
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Taylor Rose Clarke is sitting in her car after layout nights. After submitting that week’s edition of The Chronicle, we’d leave the office around 3:30 in the morning and catch up as she drove me home. No matter how many hours we’d been in the office or how grueling the edits were that week, she would always offer me a ride.
This gesture was one of many acts Taylor did to make layout nights special. No one cared about The Chronicle more than Taylor Clarke, and she showed it by the presence she brought to the staff. Whether it was gathering a group of editors to hang out in the School of Communication, playing music during layout nights or spending time in the office throughout the week, she went out of her way to make sure everyone felt welcomed and included. She made spending every Monday night huddled up in The Chronicle’s office poring over typos and InDesign formatting the highlight of my week.
She matched this effort in every endeavor she undertook. She was passionate, dedicated and invested in everything she pursued. Taylor truly wanted The Chronicle to be the best it could be and was willing to go above and beyond to make that happen, from suggesting ideas for TikToks we could make, to her determination to write for every section in the paper, to undertaking insurmountably difficult stories. And as a testament to the extraordinary person she was, she always pulled it off. The Chronicle, and every one of us, are better off for having known her.
Taylor Rose Clarke truly was one of a kind. What everyone wants to be is what she was – smart, funny, hardworking and kind. I know I’m not alone in looking to her as a role model. She was the kind of person everyone recognized. She was proud of who she was, honest, humble, a spark in everyone’s life. There are no words to truly sum up the kind of person she was, much like there are no words to describe the feeling of realizing I would never speak to her again. I am incredibly grateful for the two years in which I knew Taylor, and I know that her memory will live on – with me, with her friends and family and with the office she helped to grow.
- Mia Thompson, Copy Chief, Class of 2019
Taylor lit up every space she came into and she always, always, always gave 110 percent. In my 10 years teaching at Hofstra, I have never seen a student embrace college the way Taylor did. Teaching her was an absolute joy because she saw all her classes as an opportunity rather than a chore and she sustained that enthusiasm even when The Chronicle was on deadline or midterms were looming. Given Taylor’s role at the paper I would have forgiven her for skipping classes, but she never slacked off on anything, ever, and she just always seemed quite joyful about life. During Taylor’s senior year I was called to provide a reference for an internship (which she totally got) and I remember laughing when I chatted with the woman on the phone because I advised her she’d wind up creating a full time post to keep Taylor because she was THAT good; she really was someone you wanted to keep around. The world is a poorer place for her passing.
- Kelly Fincham, Associate Professor of Journalism at Hofstra from 2010 to 2021
Taylor Clarke left a beautiful impact on the world and brought out the best in others. I am a better person for having known her and The Hofstra Chronicle is better for having been guided by her leadership. She never judged. She always listened. To say that she was kind is an understatement. She had this angelic aura and everyone realized it. I was constantly inspired by her as both a friend and colleague and continue to be every day. Taylor truly believed that with words we could change the world and used her storytelling gifts to amplify the voices of the voiceless. She undoubtedly would have won a Pulitzer Prize.
I was lucky to share so many memories on and off the Hofstra campus with her. We toured the BuzzFeed headquarters in Manhattan, danced all night in Rockville Centre bars, stayed up until (and past) sunrise for election night coverages and dined at new local restaurants. During all these moments, no matter how stressed she was, Taylor was an open book and an old soul. One night, probably well after 3 a.m., while laying out the newspaper in the Student Center office, she was talking about her heart transplant. Taylor had told me that one of the things she was most concerned about after waking up from the transplant surgery was whether she would still love the same people now that she had a new heart. I couldn’t believe what she was saying. I kept thinking, how could this young woman who had been through so much be thinking about others from that hospital bed? In that moment I realized how special Taylor was. Even though she had been through so much, her compassion for her family and friends was shining through. I think about that conversation a lot and it has made me try to be selfless like how she was.
Most importantly, I think Taylor would like for my tribute to her to include a call of action to others, because that is what she did best. Her accomplishments in journalism are impressive, but for me her volunteering with organ and tissue donation is the most profound. I encourage everyone to sign up to be an organ, eye and tissue donor and then encourage others to do so. She saved countless lives through signing others up to become living donors, or to eventually donate at passing. That little heart on your driver’s license indicating your donor status meant so much to her, and it now means the world to me. Even in death, Taylor is still giving now as a donor herself. It is comforting to know that while my friend is no longer with us, she continues to have a physical presence in our world through the bodies of others. Those recipients are carrying an angel with them, and we are all carrying memories of our angel with us.
- Jill Leavey, Managing Editor, Class of 2020
I got to know Taylor Rose Clarke through my involvement with The Hofstra Chronicle, where she was assistant news editor, then news editor and then editor-in-chief her senior year. As a leader, she always made you feel important and valuable, from the shyest freshman staff writer to the paper’s executive board. Taylor also had a hand in most of The Chronicle’s biggest stories during her time at Hofstra, whether that meant investigating things on her own or guiding other reporters as they worked to inform the Hofstra community about important issues. A lot of my peers and I learned just as much – if not more – about journalism from The Chronicle as we did from most of our classes at Hofstra, and Taylor’s leadership played no small role in that learning experience.
Outside The Chronicle, Taylor was a delightful presence on campus. We had a few classes together, and I always enjoyed working with someone so dedicated yet witty and down-to-earth. Even once COVID-19 sent us all home for the latter half of the Spring 2020 semester, Taylor was always there to complain about Zoom classes with me and trade notes and tips when it came to completing our classwork. I looked back on our text message history while writing this (yes, it was painful) and was struck by how much fun it was to just talk with her about stuff as silly as what kind of music our dogs enjoy and random funny TikTok ideas.
I remember a conversation where she joked about wanting to skip a class and I dramatically responded with something like, “I guess that’s why they tell you to never meet your heroes.” I was kidding, but as cheesy as it sounds, Taylor continues to inspire me to be a better journalist and a better person. Her commitment to ethical, responsible reporting and to treating everyone with respect are things I try to embody every day.
The last message I ever received from Taylor was in August of 2020, when she had graduated and I was in my final semester of college. As always, she sent encouragement and positivity, closing with “I miss you!!!” (I, of course, said “Miss you too” with a couple of teary emojis.)
This time, Taylor, it’s right back at you.
- Elizabeth Turley, Copy Chief, Class of 2020
From the first semester I met Taylor, in my introductory news writing class, it was clear she would be an extraordinary reporter – brilliant and principled. She was determined to tell stories that mattered. She was a tenacious reporter and a graceful writer. When asked to interview any Hofstra professor about their research, she chose the dean of the engineering school; she was never scared to tackle a tough topic or try something new. As Editor-in-Chief of The Chronicle, she upheld the highest standards of accuracy and fairness. She wrote and published investigative stories that took tremendous courage – more courage than I’ve ever mustered in my career – and for which she, and the paper, won many prestigious awards.
And yet what inspired me most about Taylor was her gift not for journalism but for kindness. She, of all people, knew how precious time was, yet she was so generous with her own. No matter how busy she was – running the student paper, excelling in the Honors College, advocating for organ donation and interning – she would help anyone who needed it as though she had all the time in the world. She endured so much but smiled so readily. She was grateful. She was loving. She was optimistic. How many of us would be, in the same situation?
When I think of Taylor’s passing, I am, like so many of my colleagues, overwhelmed by the unfairness of it all. But I try to remember what Taylor taught everyone around her by example, about kindness and strength, about how precious life is. She wanted to change the world with her journalism ... and she did change it, with her courage. She will always be in our hearts.
- Carol Fletcher, Associate Professor of Journalism at Hofstra University
When you read things about how incredible people were in their lifetime after they’ve passed away, people always speak highly of them. For Taylor Rose Clarke, even the highest praise of her character, her devotion, her friendship and her soul is not enough to cover what an incredible, inspiring and kind person she was. No words could do her justice; she was so much more than any description or any act of kindness or any one thing.
I met Taylor through The Hofstra Chronicle, and I will be forever grateful that our paths even crossed. When I think about all of the tiny choices that had to be made for Taylor to be at Hofstra, for us to even meet, I consider myself lucky beyond words. We were friends instantly, both of us in the news section with Katie and Jill, and she quickly became one of my closest friends.
Taylor was someone you could always rely on, someone who, without fail, could make you smile and give you the best advice and make all the bad things seem more under control. She was a calming presence when she needed to be, but at the same time the most bubbly, hilarious and outgoing person. She was an incredibly gifted journalist and an exceptional friend and person. I learned so much about love and life and the world from her, and she always made me smile. I miss her every day, and she was truly unlike anyone else, which is something people just tend to say, but it is so true for her. She was a one-of-a-kind person, and everyone who had the opportunity to meet her should be so, so thankful.
We will never forget you, Tay, and I know that these memories we had together in the few years I got to have you in my life will be with me forever.
- Melanie Haid, Editor-in-Chief, Class of 2021
