We Heart Papa Swag
By Ansley Palmer
I like to think all of us at Sebastian River High School are similar to a giant family. Granted, we are quite a dysfunctional one at times, but that’s just how the best families are. There are people that are there for you, people to challenge you, and people to care for you.
One of those people was William Clark, the longtime substitute known affectionately to us students as “Papa Swag.” He died in August of 2021 at 73-years-old; and, as any good family would do, we honored his life with the best sendoff we could.
The Sebastian River High School Marching Sharks Band and the Athletics Department got together on the football field during a sweltering Florida afternoon and used their bodies to create a massive rendering of the phrase, “We ‘heart’ Papa Swag.” They then presented an aerial photograph of the tribute to Mr. Clark’s family.
We recognized “Say Something Week” at Sebastian River High School last week as part of the Sandy Hook Promise. We want to help each other learn how to identify warning signs and means of support to keep people safe on campus. An important component of that is to identify trusted adults in the school community. One such adult was our beloved substitute Papa Swag.
Papa Swag was one of the nicest men I have ever met. Though he was not a full-time, paid teacher at Sebastian River High School, he sure acted like it. He went above and beyond to care for the hearts of so many students, even the ones he did not know well. His kind heart caused us not to mourn his loss, but to celebrate the joy he brought to our school community.
Even though Mr. Clark passed away months ago, it’s important that we continue to share his story to honor his legacy. To let an event like this come and go so easily seems wrong. To let a man who has devoted much of his life to students he barely knew be forgotten seems inappropriate.
We will forever hold him and the positive changes he brought to the Indian River School District in our hearts. People like Papa Swag are difficult to replace. People like Papa Swag cannot be replaced.
At Sebastian River High School, we are like a family. That is what I love most about my school. We come together in times of crisis to do the right thing and create meaningful memories. Despite the hardships that so many of us go through, there is always somebody to turn to. There is always an adult around we can trust.
William Clark embodied this spirit, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to know him. I am grateful for everything that my school does, for the memories that we hold, and the people we all support. Just like we ‘heart’ one another, we ‘heart’ Papa Swag and everything that he did for our school community.
