If you ask Michele Clark what a typical day looks like, she’ll laugh before answering. “Oh, I don’t have a typical day,” she says. “My day changes from one day to the next.”
And it’s no wonder. As Administrative Operations and IT Manager, Michele’s role at UNC Radiology is a blend of logistics, leadership, and a touch of magic. One minute, she’s onboarding new faculty or coordinating with Facilities on a renovation project. The next, she’s solving a network issue, handling compliance, or troubleshooting someone’s printer that’s gone rogue. “I can get ten completely different requests in one day,” she says. “That variety is what I love. It’s a healthy mix most days—other days, it’s slam-bang crazy. But I wouldn’t trade it.”
Michele joined the department in 2005 as a temporary employee and was hired permanently the following year. Twenty years later, she’s become a cornerstone of the department—part problem-solver, part mentor, part “mother hen,” as she puts it with a smile.
But Radiology wasn’t her first career path. Michele’s first love was music. With degrees in music education, flute performance, and musicology, she once imagined herself as a college professor. “I spent years teaching music, researching in archives, and performing,” she says. “I even earned a Fulbright to Vienna to do my doctoral research. I loved every bit of it.”
After completing her doctorate, Michele took what she thought would be a short-term administrative job while searching for musicology positions. But when the 2008 market crash wiped out many opportunities in academia, her career took a turn she hadn’t planned—and one that’s brought her joy and purpose ever since.
“I realized I loved helping people,” she reflects. “That’s the thread through everything I’ve ever done—service. Whether it’s teaching, fixing a problem, or finding a solution, I love supporting others and figuring out how things work.”
That analytical, hands-on side of her is balanced by a deep appreciation for the arts and the natural world. “People see the practical side of me all the time, because I’m fixing things or managing projects,” she says. “But I’m also a dreamer. I love Tolkien, art, music, and documentaries. I’m curious about everything.”
At home, she nurtures a small balcony garden—flowers and herbs grown in the same spirit of curiosity and care that she brings to her work. “I started gardening with my dad,” she says. “I guess I’m a secret naturalist.”
Her curiosity extends to teaching as well. Michele is an adjunct professor at North Carolina Central University, where she teaches graduate courses in Information and Library Science. “I love teaching,” she says. “I get out of class so energized that I need an hour to calm down.”
When asked what keeps her in Radiology after two decades, Michele doesn’t hesitate: “The people. We’ve got the best staff we’ve ever had, and I’ve been lucky to have amazing bosses. Radiology is a special place. When someone’s going through something hard, people here pull together. They literally wrapped their arms around me when my parents passed. That’s rare.”
If she could offer advice to her younger self, it would be this: “Life is not a straight line.”
Michele’s journey—from the concert hall to IT command central—proves that fulfillment isn’t found in one fixed path. “You can be more than one version of yourself,” she says. “And still be happy and fulfilled.”
When asked to describe herself in one word, she doesn’t miss a beat: “Curious.”
And if you spend even a few minutes with her, you’ll see just how true that is.