By Warner M. MontgomeryWarner@TheColumbiaStar.com

Clark McCarthy, a 2005 graduate of A.C. Flora High School, made the Dean's List at Lander University in Greenwood for the fourth straight semester. He was named to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll for both 2006 and 2007. Clark is a member of the Lander soccer team and, upon graduation in 2009, plans to teach and coach in Columbia.

Clark's father, Greg, who died in 1997, was an attorney with the S.C. Department of Education and a close personal friend of attorneys Lewis Cromer and Ben Mabry. Clark clerked at the Cromer & Mabry Law Firm last summer where he was a paralegal to Cromer.

Clark was sick his entire third grade year at Satchel Ford Elementary School and was taught that year by his mother, Nan McCarthy, and Home Bound teachers. He returned to public school in the fourth grade, worked hard, and was dedicated to his studies and athletics.

At A.C. Flora High School, Clark was a member of the National Honor Society, the Flora Senior Hall of Fame, participated in the International Baccalaureate program, and received two superlative awards. He played football two years and started as goalie on the soccer team for three years.