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At the end of fourth grade, each student in my elementary school had to choose whether to join the middle school chorus, band, or orchestra. While orchestra seemed like it might be fun to try, after a nasty run-in with a recorder earlier that year I had decided that instruments weren’t for me, resigning myself to chorus. But on the day when the orchestra came to the school to let students try out the string instruments, Miss Clark, the program’s director, found me and asked if I wouldn’t just try the violin for a bit. No pressure. If I hated it I could quit and take chorus. But I never did quit, after all. And that was Carol’s way: believing in you, sometimes more than you believed yourself.

Carol hamming it up with students during a national competition trip, 1993. (Photo credit: Max Dillow)

Growing up in Boardman, Ohio, and playing in her high school’s small orchestra, Carol S. Clark always knew that music was her calling. Unfortunately, she happened to come of age during a time when women had limited opportunities in the symphonic world. “When I graduated, there were no women in pop or professional orchestras. None. Not even a flute player!” says Carol. Music education offered more promise, but even still there were barriers to overcome. As Carol explains, “In the directing world, as a woman you could teach elementary and middle school, but teaching at the high school level was considered a man’s job.” Determined to follow her passion, Carol got her bachelor’s degree in education from Ohio State and a master’s in conducting from Trenton State University. After teaching for 12 years in New Jersey and Columbus, Ohio, in 1971 Carol returned to her alma mater, becoming director of the Boardman High School Orchestra.

Over the next 27 years she continued to break through barriers, taking that small orchestra and transforming it into a comprehensive music education program engaging hundreds of students every year in grades 5–12. Students, regardless of income, were able to learn a string instrument and be part of an orchestra. She believed in the potential of all students who wanted to learn to play and pushed them to achieve remarkable things. Focused on musical excellence, Carol prepared the orchestra to compete in state and national competitions, performing difficult works not often attempted by high school orchestras. During her tenure the Boardman High School Orchestra earned a state record for its superior ratings at state competitions (the highest mark possible).

While Carol retired in 1999, her legacy lives on. The Boardman Orchestra music program she built continues to thrive and receive superior ratings at state and national competitions. But perhaps her most important accomplishment is the lasting effect she has had on her many students. For me, Carol was one of the most positive role models I had during my formative years. And her caring guidance is similarly cherished by many others who had the privilege of being a part of the orchestra. As one former student of Carol’s puts it, “She has influenced thousands of lives over the years. Quite honestly, she was one of the more influential people in my life (woman or man) throughout some important years. I would not be the person I am today if it weren’t for her.”

This post is part of a special Women’s History Month series.