Spartan of the Week: Clarine Ovando-Lacroux

The French-born Clarine Ovando-Lacroux is your Spartan of the Week.

Ovando-Lacroux is majoring in Applied Sociology and will be graduating soon, but until she does, you can find her feeding the homeless every Tuesday.

The Minaret: (M) How did you get involved with feeding the homeless?

Clarine Ovando-Lacroux: (COL) When I came to Tampa a year and a half ago, I ran across a group of three people who came from Sarasota. Their church was cooking and they would bring it down here and serve the homeless, so I got on board with them. In May, they had to stop and weren’t coming anymore and I felt really bummed out because it was a really great experience and [the homeless] needed it. In June I started again, and I had a few friends who came in different weeks and helped.

M: What supplies did you have to start off with?

COL: I had nothing to start, just some pots and stuff. It was really not organized very well. I just felt like I had to do something. At the end of summer I was more organized, I had the right equipment.

M: And you do this by yourself?

COL: Yeah, but then when school started I had at least two friends who come regularly every Tuesday. They come help prepare or help make last minute foods and other people chip in too.

One of my friends always brings a dessert so I know that’s taken care of. Friends from classes help as well.

M: What do you do if you have a big test Wednesday morning?

COL: It’s funny. I have friends who can’t come on a consistent basis and I don’t expect them to, but I know I have to be there so it doesn’t matter what’s going on the next day. When you have 60 to 70 people who count on you there’s no such thing as no showing up.

M: How long does it take to prepare all the food you make?

COL: It depends. I never really cooked much before. Last week someone gave me ten turkeys and I’ve never even cooked a turkey before in my life! I had no idea how long a turkey would take to cook. But yeah, it depends. I try to start on the weekends. I’ll start most on the weekends and then we freeze it and sometimes we’ll make last minute things.

M: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever cooked?

COL: This turkey thing was tough. I cooked three turkeys! I have seven more in my fridge, we’re going to have turkey until the end of the year. The difference between what we do and maybe some others is that it’s all homemade, stuff I would want to eat. No cans, we have meat and vegetables. We use ricotta cheese, we use really good food.

M: How long does the whole thing typically last, from start to finish?

COL: It depends on the conversations. During the summer it could last for hours just talking to people. Right now it’s about an hour and a half.

M: Do you ever worry about running out of food?

COL: All the time, I get so nervous. Now that it’s getting bigger it costs more. It’s about $70 a week for me right now.

M: How do you pay for it?

COL: I have a job on campus. I work in the photography lab, it pays exactly $70 a week.

M: So you’re really passionate about this?

COL: Yeah, I am. They’re such good people, they’re so nice. I’ve met some amazing people. There are homeless out there who are smart, who have a good education and they just need
employment. Some had a little bump on the road but didn’t have family or the security net that we do to help. They’re just like us.

M: Was there ever a time where you were really nervous or scared by one of the people you were helping?

COL: No. I lived in the [Howard Johnson Hotel] my first semester and met a homeless lady there. I talked to her a lot and one weekend she invited me to stay on the streets with her. So I spent a weekend sleeping by the library. It was in November and freezing and we were sleeping on concrete. I didn’t sleep at all, the night was tough. But I knew that the next day I would go home and have a bed to stay in, so I could get through the night. But they don’t have that. It’s not fair.

M: How could UT students get involved with the homeless?

COL: It starts with respect. I’ve had conversations with some people who think homelessness is a choice. A lot of Americans think that, that people are just lazy because this is the Land of

Opportunity, but that’s no longer true. We participate in the system so we allow that to happen. It’s our responsibility to do something.

If you’re interested in joining Clarine and her friends to feed the homeless, she encourages students to meet them every Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Lykes Gaslight Park located on the corner of N. Tampa St. and Kennedy Boulevard.

Think you or someone you know could be Spartan of the Week? Contact us at minaret.news@gmail.com with their name, contact information and a brief description of what makes them awesome!

Richard Solomon can be reached at richard.solomon@spartans.ut.edu