Carolyn Cochran Clark credits a little luck and a lot of guts for the success she’s enjoyed as a New York attorney.

Parker Eshelman photo

Lynda Baumgartner, honorary chair of the Hall of Leaders, introduces former Athletics Director Hap Whitney, left, last night as an honoree of the 2006 Hall of Leaders Outstanding Retired Educators.

Women weren’t considering law careers when she graduated from Hickman High School in 1959. But public relations, her first job out of college, didn’t pay well, so Clark thought she’d head to Harvard Law School.

"Women really weren’t in law at all in those days," she said. "I just wanted to try."

It paid off. Clark graduated from Harvard in 1968 and has enjoyed enormous successes, from being the first woman to be named president of the Harvard Law School Association to being the first woman partner of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCoy, a noted Wall Street law firm, in 1977.

"I feel lucky to have gone to school in Columbia," Clark said last night at the annual Columbia Public Schools Foundation banquet, where she was one of 14 individuals inducted into the Hall of Leaders.

"It’s a great honor," she said of being named an Outstanding Alumnus. "And it’s a nice excuse to come back home."

More than 350 school and community leaders gathered at Lela Raney Woods Hall on the Stephens College campus last night to recognize the inductees and celebrate the foundation’s 10th anniversary.

Jim Beasley, senior vice president of Willbros USA Inc. of Tulsa; Leo Lewis III, associate athletic director at the University of Minnesota; and Richard Mendenhall, owner of Re/Max Boone Realty in Columbia and Jefferson City, were also honored as outstanding alumni.

"It’s a pretty impressive list," said Beasley, a 1960 Hickman graduate. "I’m humbled to be included."

Beasley manages pipeline products around the world, including a 220-mile crude oil and products system in Iran. He credits Hickman teachers - including Nelle Kitchens, Russell Thompson and Helen Williams - for helping him achieve that success.

Excellent teaching earned several former Columbia educators a spot on the Hall of Leaders honor roll, including Mary Ann Gates, who taught English at Hickman for 27 years.

"I always expected" students "to work up to the upper levels of their abilities, no matter what their abilities were," Gates said last night.

Other Outstanding Educators honored last night were Michael Bancroft, a former Rock Bridge English teacher; Hap Whitney, former athletics director; and Mary "Khaki" Westerfield, a former English teacher and arts coordinator.

School volunteers were also recognized at the Hall of Leaders banquet, including Lynn McIntosh, who spent 14 years helping out at Hickman as her five sons went through the system.

"The reason I was so involved at Hickman is because at the elementary level, all parents volunteer," she said. Fewer parents stay involved as children enter secondary schools. With close to 2,000 kids at Hickman, "I thought that would be a good place to devote my time."

Other Outstanding Volunteers were Amelia Cottle, president of the Rock Bridge High School Booster Club; Lisa Lang, an active volunteer at Grant, Smithton, West Junior and Hickman for the past 25 years; and Reggie Rieger, known as a dependable volunteer for music departments at Smithton, West Junior and Rock Bridge.

Bill Fairman, former Columbia Public Schools Foundation president, and Charley Blackmore, creator of the Hickman alumni Web site, received Special Service awards last night.

Beasley offered up some advice for current students to help them reach outstanding alumni status someday.

"The main thing is don’t get discouraged if you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up," Beasley said. "Explore a wide variety of interests. Pick something you like to do, and pursue that."