Clarence Boyd, a Creative Young Professional Enriching Tulsa
BY AMBER NEVILLE
Contributing Writer
DANIEL C. CAMERON for GTR Newspapers
Mayor Kathy Taylor’s recent State of the City address was symbolic of Tulsa’s “new kind of energy” as she highlighted development and progress downtown. Contributing to the buzz and productivity is this month’s featured Tulsa Young Professional Clarence Boyd. “If you have one brief conversation with him, you’ll know he is aggressive, broad-thinking and creative. Just the type of mindset our firm wants,” says Bill Savage, Business Development Manager and Boyd’s mentor at Selser Schaefer Architects in downtown Tulsa.
Boyd grew up in Tulsa and was raised by his parents, Dr. Kim Boyd and Dr. Clarence Boyd, both graduates of Oral Roberts University where they are now enjoying administrative and executive careers. Boyd is the oldest of four, including twin brothers and a younger sister. “Family is first at my house,” says Boyd. “We are always hanging out together, doing things as a family as often as we can.”
While at Jenks High School, the well-rounded Boyd participated in basketball, football and band. Boyd laughs, “My mom made us all take up music!” Interestingly, there is a correlation between athletes and musicians. According to emusician.com, “Team sports incorporate important values that are directly applicable to music making: teamwork balanced with individual achievement, physical conditioning, clean competition, fair play, courtesy, a striving spirit, and grace in losing.” Makes sense, right? At least it did to Boyd’s mother. And perhaps it was his mother’s foresight to introduce her children to various extracurricular activities and information.
Boyd suffered a knee injury while playing basketball at and forced him to focus primarily on his studies and art. Boyd graduated from with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an art minor in 2004.
Boyd decided to study architecture during his junior year in college after realizing his love of both business and art and applying his whole-brained thinking approach. Boyd went on to the University of Oklahoma to study Environmental Design and Architecture, leading him to his Master’s in Architecture, which he completed this past May.
A testament to Boyd’s work ethic is that he worked as a bartender and manager at In the Raw sushi restaurants in the Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa locations throughout school and between semesters.
Further into his program, Boyd found an intern opportunity at Selser Schaefer Architects in Tulsa. Bill Savage, who is responsible for relationship building with clients, says of interns in general at Selser Schaefer, “We’re looking for gregarious, intelligent, ‘best of the best’ to come to our firm; those like this find us early on in their career and we recognize these attributes as was the case with Clarence Boyd.”
When asked what sets Selser Schaefer apart from other firms, Boyd vehemently exclaims, “I really think it’s the process in which we do things. We are a very professional firm; from the smallest projects and remodels to a totally new project from the ground up, getting the creative freedom to do a lot of the things we want to do and looking at the details always.”
Selser Schaefer’s most recently completed project is the Tulsa Community College Center for Creativity. It is located on the west side of Boston Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets paralleling the existing building and expanding the campus west. The addition creates a pathway looking north to the Bank of Oklahoma tower and south, looking toward Boston Avenue Methodist Church, both iconic Tulsa landmarks in their own right.
Boyd encourages everyone to tour the Center for Creativity. Details about the Center for Creativity and more can be found by visiting the Selser Schaefer Web site at www.selserschaefer.com.
When not in the office, Boyd can be found in a dance hall, swing dancing or playing saxophone (thanks Mom). Boyd is a fine artist and is currently revisiting canvas with his paintbrush and enjoys sketching. He is a relatively new member of Tulsa’s Young Professionals and is affiliated with the Sustainability Crew.
Editor’s Note: Tulsa-area leadership has been working hard over the past few years to keep young professional talent in the region. One organization that has been very effective with these efforts is Tulsa’s Young Professionals, known by its acronym “TYPros.” This is one of an ongoing Newspapers series spotlighting young Tulsa leadership. Greater Tulsa is fortunate to have young talent contributing to its betterment.
About ros:
Tulsa’s Young Professionals, or “TYPros” is a group of diverse young professionals, whose typical ages range from 21-40, working together to showcase Tulsa as an excellent place to live, work and play. The mission of ros is to retain and attract young talent, while focusing on fostering Tulsa’s next generation of leadership. Membership is free. ros provides its members with opportunities to get in front of and build relationships with local community and business leaders. For more information or to become a member, visit www.typros.org.
Updated 10-12-2009
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