On a sunny Texas morning, whereas many college students hurry between lessons, Malani Clark is extra more likely to be discovered standing quietly in a subject, laptop computer balanced close by, fastidiously measuring the carbon dioxide rising from the soil beneath her toes.
The work is meticulous, usually invisible to passersby.
However for Clark, a senior agriculture main at Prairie View A&M College, these measurements inform a narrative about local weather change, intertwined with meals methods and the way forward for animal and human well being.
Initially from Louisiana, Clark didn’t arrive at PVAMU with a neatly outlined path into environmental science.
Her resolution to attend an HBCU was formed by conversations together with her mom in regards to the realities of veterinary drugs, the place she’s going to probably be one of many few Black ladies in her cohort.
Clark remembers her mom saying she has all her life to be a minority. She additionally suggested Clark to hitch an HBCU in order that she wouldn’t need to be self-conscious about being the one Black particular person within the room.
At PVAMU, change usually begins in sudden locations, typically in a subject and typically in a scholar discovering her voice as a scientist. For senior Melani L. Clark, undergraduate analysis has been greater than a requirement.
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— Prairie View A&M (@PVAMU) January 21, 2026
In accordance with a 2021 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, simply 1.2% of veterinarians in the USA are Black, despite the fact that Black folks make up 14.4% of the nation’s inhabitants. Veterinary drugs stays one of many least racially various professions within the nation.
In Houston, a metropolis that’s 23% Black, these numbers are even starker. Out of greater than 1,024 licensed veterinarians within the Larger Houston space, solely a handful are African American.
Having beforehand attended predominantly white colleges and skilled microaggressions at a younger age, Clark valued the prospect to study in a extra various neighborhood.
At PVAMU and in Houston, she discovered a multicultural setting that allowed her to construct relationships throughout races and cultures, which she believes made her extra well-rounded.
The start
As a baby, Clark gravitated towards science broadly, as soon as imagining herself as an epidemiologist.
That trajectory shifted in highschool after she transferred to a college with an agriculture program, the place wildlife and animal science programs provided hands-on studying.
A veterinary practicum class, paired with certification as a veterinary assistant, helped her see how science might intersect with animal care in tangible methods.
By the point she enrolled at Prairie View, after briefly attending Houston Metropolis Faculty, Clark knew she wished a science-based profession, even when she had not but settled on precisely which self-discipline.
That readability started to take form after she enrolled in an agricultural economics course and met Dr. Ali Fares, who inspired her to contemplate undergraduate analysis.
“Malani has persistently demonstrated an distinctive analysis work ethic; she is curious, dedicated and element oriented,” stated Fares, a professor of water safety within the Faculty of Agriculture and Human Sciences at PVAMU. “From her work on climate-smart practices and soil CO₂ emissions in grain sorghum methods to presenting at nationwide and worldwide conferences, she approached each job with professionalism and willpower. Mentoring her has been a rewarding expertise.”
Clark joined the School Analysis and Innovation Success and Excellence (RISE) Program the summer season after her freshman 12 months, not sure whether or not she belonged in environmental science in any respect.
What she did have was curiosity and a willingness to study.
For the previous three years, Clark’s main duty has been monitoring soil carbon dioxide emissions in experimental crop plots.
Utilizing soil flux chambers related to sensors and a pc, she measures how totally different soil amendments, equivalent to biochar and animal manure utilized at various charges, have an effect on greenhouse gasoline emissions.
The objective is to determine extra sustainable alternate options to standard fertilizers with out sacrificing crop productiveness.
The technical calls for of the analysis pushed Clark past fieldwork and into coding and lab chemistry.
That persistence paid off.
Clark’s findings had been robust sufficient to be introduced at nationwide conferences, together with the Affiliation of 1890 Analysis Administrators Convention in Nashville and the Rising Researchers Nationwide Convention in Atlanta.
“Upon going into conferences, listening to about different scientists’ work made me understand, it’s a tough factor to do, however it’s manageable,” she stated. “I’m good sufficient to get this completed and to be a scientist.”
What’s subsequent for Clark?
Clark is targeted on how agriculture contributes to local weather change and the way it may additionally assist mitigate it.
By learning how reused animal waste impacts emissions, she grapples with a rigidity on the heart of sustainability: Practices that appear environmentally pleasant however can nonetheless trigger hurt if mismanaged.
“We need to do nice issues, reuse animal waste, do sustainable stuff for animal manufacturing, and in addition recycle,” she stated. “However we additionally need to guarantee that the charges at which we’re doing it aren’t additionally posing a higher affect later.”
She plans to attend Purdue’s Faculty of Veterinary Drugs within the fall of 2026, with an curiosity in livestock copy and vitamin.
Past that, she hopes to earn a grasp’s diploma in public well being and pursue work in meals security, authorities analysis, or regulatory oversight.
Raised in a household of educators, Clark additionally desires to return to the classroom, significantly in Ok-12 settings, to introduce younger college students to STEM fields.
Illustration is central to her objective
Clark is conscious of how few Black ladies occupy areas like veterinary drugs and environmental science.
She hopes her personal journey reveals youthful college students that ready for another person to blaze a path can imply ready without end.
She, too, had moments of self-doubt.
“I’d have by no means initially taken a analysis place as a result of, particularly being a girl of colour, you assume any individual is extra certified than me to do that,” she stated. “I don’t assume I’m as good sufficient to do that. And I’d say, apply for it anyway, the worst factor you can hear is not any. Then should you do get it, be joyful that you simply bought it, however then additionally form of be upset to the place you thought, ‘I couldn’t do that.’”
As she prepares to graduate, Clark sees her undergraduate years as proof that she belongs in analysis areas, the place African American illustration is sparse.
Just one.2% of U.S. veterinarians are Black — and two Houston ladies are altering that. Dr. Adria Flowers & Dr. Cherese Sullivan opened Skyline Animal Hospital and are mentoring future vets to diversify the sphere.https://t.co/szLsh4aRg4 pic.twitter.com/Fn74ErWTV9
— Defender Community (@defendernetwork) October 21, 2025
“I hope that different Black ladies and different ladies of colour can look and see that is achievable,” she stated. “In order for you illustration, you form of need to be the advocate for that. If I waited so long as I did till I noticed any individual like me do sure issues, I’d be ready for a very very long time.”
