After serving his country for 30 years in the United States Army, Retired Colonel William Clark’s focus is now leading boys on a pathway to becoming men of honor and integrity.

“What we’re doing is transforming young men into a term I call, modern day knights,” Col. Clark said.

“You go back and look at history, knights were men who were held in very esteem because they were men of character and lived by a code of conduct.”

Clark took command of St. John’s Military School in June and is tasked with growing the enrollment and creating a campus environment that is more connected to Salina.

“I want Salina to be part of St. John’s, this is their campus,” he said.

“I want to start having open houses where people from Salina can come in to see, because it goes back to “It takes the village,” to help raise children to become what they can be.”

According to Clark, St. John’s will add about 20 new cadets to the campus this semester bringing the enrollment total to 140 young men to begin the 2017-2018 school year.

He says they anticipate adding 20 more students for the second semester for a total of 160 cadets this year.

The private boarding school located on Salina’s north end is hoping to grow to an annual enrollment of about 185 cadets by 2020.