Alumni Association

2022 Parkway Alumni Hall of Fame

Michael Calhoun - Parkway West High School, Class of 2004

Darrion Cockrell - Parkway Central High School, Class of 2005

Cockrell, a December 2013 graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, began his career as a paraprofessional through the Special School District of St. Louis County and worked in the Parkway C-2 school district in the 2014 spring semester. He then spent one year at Lafayette High School (Rockwood R-VI) before starting his current role at Crestwood in August 2015. In addition to creating the Crest-Fit program, Cockrell started the “Dads’ Club Open Gym,” a weekly event for local fathers to play basketball in the evening.

In 2020, Cockrell received a 2020 National Box Tops for Education Twilight Award, presented by Grammy-award winning rapper, singer/songwriter and activist, Chance the Rapper. Mr. DC understands that teachers are not only there to teach students, but also to be a father-figure, big brother, uncle, friend, counselor, and to some students, a hero. Darrion serves on Crestwood’s diversity team and the Missouri Society of Health and Physical Education Equity, Diversity and Inclusion task force to advocate for more males in schools and diversifying our nation’s classrooms to ensure every student has a father-figure, big brother or superhero to see as a role model. 

In 2021, Darrion Cockrell (better known as Mr. DC), a physical education teacher at Crestwood Elementary School in St. Louis, was selected by a committee of his peers and education partners across the state as the 2021 Missouri Teacher of the Year. He became the 52nd Missouri Teacher of the Year since the program’s inception in 1957, is the second recipient from the Lindbergh school district, and is the first male to capture the state’s top education award since 2015. Additionally, he is Missouri's first Black Male Educator of the year.

As Missouri Teacher of the Year, Mr. DC has traveled across the state, and the country, sharing his personal story as a keynote speaker for educators nationwide. It is only fitting to nominate Mr. DC for Parkway’s alumni honor, since so many individuals in the Parkway community made such a huge impact on his life as a student, and his decision to become an education professional. 

Mark Fisher - Parkway Central High School, Class of 1979

Silas Goldman - Parkway North High School, Class of 1999

Silas Goldman, began handball career at age 4 and was a dominant player in the Junior world circuit from ‘91-‘97 while at Parkway North High. Goldman played for the Division I World collegiate champion Southwest Missouri State University before his tenure on the USHA Pro Handball Tour. Goldman captured five National singles titles and one World Handball Championship title. During that same time, he was named one of USHA’s Top 100 handball players in the world in 1999 and 2000. 

Today Silas is Assistant Vice President of Operations at Vee Technologies, where he leads a team of 5,000 on population health research, healthcare innovation, and clinical delivery reform. Silas' predictive diagnosis AI models are in use at several academic medical universities including Harvard Medical, Duke University, Hopkins. He is currently working with the National Health System in the UK on expanding their population health stratification models, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on establishing a Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) model to categorize hospitalizations resource usage.

Silas is a proud 2nd generation parkway graduate, his father Donald Goldman (Central '72) was among the founding members of the Parkway Alumni association.

Katie Harris - Parkway Central High School, Class of 2000

Katie is a very special woman with significant accomplishments in areas of community service and non profit leadership. Despite suffering from a rare genetic disease called Ehlers Danlos which has left her partly wheel chair dependent and in chronic pain, Katie has pushed through her significant physical disabilities to serve others. Together with her service and trained therapy dog named Moxie, Katie has proven to be relentless in her efforts to "pass it forward." 

Her community leadership accomplishments in service to others include: The development of a high school assembly program in Kansas known as City Conquest where she traveled to school assemblies to speak on the dangers of drinking and driving, risk behaviors, resilience and mental health issues. The advancement throughout the State of Kansas of a program called "ACEing Autism," teaching tennis to individuals with autism. (Before her illness, Katie was a collegiate tennis player.) The coordination of a "Wish Club" at the high school where she worked as a social worker, raising money to help give a wish to a Make a Wish child. Her goal was to raise the $5000 needed to grant one wish. Katie raised $10,000 and was able to give two terminal children their most special wish. And perhaps most importantly, the founding of a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization called "Moxie's Mission" which provides service dogs to individuals suffering from a range of hardships including chronic illness, disability or post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Since 2019 Moxie's Mission has raised enough funds (through special events and individual donations) to provide three service dogs; one to a college professor who struggles with medical trauma, one to a veteran suffering from PTSD and another to an individual in St. Louis who struggles with epilepsy. Moxie’s Mission is now in the process of funding their 4th service dog, who will go to a Veteran.

In addition, Katie has written a children's book called "Moxie Makes a Difference" which will be published in early 2022 teaching resilience, disability awareness and the gift of a service dog for those in need.

This year, Katie will travel throughout the Country to elementary and high schools using the book, her experience with her own disabilities and her dog Moxie to speak on mental health, resilience, and disability sensitivity. And although she acts as the Founder and Executive Director of Moxie's Mission, she takes no salary, committing all funds of the organization to the effort of providing service dogs to those in need. She has recently relocated to the Ballwin area where she acts as a licensed social worker (LMSW) in private practice and telehealth services. (Her work in this area is either on a "pay as you're able" or pro bono basis.) Through surgeries, physical therapy and other medical interventions, Katie is able to walk short distances with either a cane or walker. Her joints still dislocate and she has a chronic brain and spinal leak that requires constant infusions yet she pushes on, works through her pain and makes a very real difference in her community. 

Randy Karraker - Parkway North High School, Class of 1980

Randy Karraker is an institution in St. Louis media. A distinctive voice heard for decades on talk radio that is instantly recognized by fans of all ages. Today, Randy applies his tremendous passion for sports, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and his amazing mass appeal to listeners of 101 ESPN Radio as co-host of the station's highest-rated show, “Karraker and Smallmon." Randy launched his broadcasting career in 1983 at KMOX Radio while attending Lindenwood University. The 1997 Missouri Sportscaster of the Year and Achievement in Radio award winner, Randy spent 18 years at the 'Mighty MOX' as host for the top-rated 'Sports Open Line' program. Randy spent five years at KTRS Radio as the voice of literally every single sports franchise on the station. He was the multi-talented, multi-faceted host of the pre-and-post-game shows for the St. Louis Rams Football, St. Louis Cardinal Baseball, and St. Louis Blues Hockey.

Randy is a pillar of the St. Louis community on and off the radio airwaves. He is continuously involved with a variety of charities and benefits: - Honorary Chair for Every Child's Hope golf tournament - Board member for Code 3 Response (non-profit organization assisting area first responders who have been injured or are suffering catastrophic life events) - MC for YMCA Lamplighter Society dinner, Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club’s “Maleness to Manhood" event, Fathers & Families Support Center trivia night, Pujols Family Foundation All-Star Basketball Game, Special Education Foundation annual scholarship banquet, and Kids Shouldn't Have Cancer Foundation dinner - Participant/volunteer for Pedal the Cause, Whitey Herzog Youth Foundation, Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital golf tournament, and KidSmart 'Back to School' Event. 

John Lenac - Parkway West High School, Class of 1986 (to be inducted 2024)

John is an icon in the music, radio, and talent industry. His hard work, natural curiosity, ability to quickly bond with others, love for music and adventure resulted in brining the following artists mainstream: Nirvana Pearl Jam Beck Alice in Chains Radiohead Sound Garden Stone Temple Pilots Cranberries Green Day Smashing Pumpkins Oasis Blind Melon Nine Inch Nails Bush The Verve RATM Live Gin Blossoms Weezer Filter Jane's addiction and 100's more. 

Entrepreneur, Strategist, Consultant, Advisor, Writer, Connector & Speaker John Lenac has helped drive the evolution of tech/music since his days as a musician, band manager and concert promoter in the late ‘80s. He helped to launch one of the first alt rock FM stations (KTOZ 1991), and grew it to be one of the highest-rated stations in the US. After managing rock stations in Nashville and Kansas City, he was Promotion Manager at TVT Records and then Rock Editor at HITS Magazine. In 2004, he went to LAUNCH/Yahoo! Music. As Head of Music Programming and Artist/Label Relations, he managed a team of radio and video music programmers and interfaced with record labels, artist managers, artists and business leaders for Yahoo’s branded original content music programs. During his seven years at Yahoo, he helped drive revenue and audience to record levels (34mm Feb 2012 – US comScore). He’s been developing and managing artists his whole career, was President of a music festival/concert series, and also founded and ran his own FM talent management company. Lenac has been working with creatives his entire life; helping to launch the careers of countless artists. His work has contributed to millions of albums sold and put dozens of gold and platinum plaques on his wall. He teaches a class at Berklee Online. He has been a panel moderator and panelist at music industry conventions all over the world, including: SxSW, ASCAP Music Expo, CMJ, MUSEXPO, Music Export Finland, and Worldwide Radio Summit. Lenac has also been interviewed by various media outlets, including: The Wall Street Journal, Variety, Records & Radio, Billboard, and MTV.

Mike Lenz - Parkway West High School, Class of 1981

Mike is the Executive Vice President and CFO of FedEx Corporation. Mike’s extensive experience in the transportation industry and finance spans more than three decades, including his 15 years at FedEx. Mike joined FedEx in 2005 as Vice President of Finance at FedEx Office. He became staff Vice President of Strategic Finance at FedEx Corporation in 2010, followed by a promotion to Corporate Vice President and Teasurer in 2012. 

Prior to joining FedEx, Mike worked at American Airlines, where he held positions in several finance and commercial areas including investor relations, financial planning and analysis, international planning and fleet planning. Before working at American, Mike was an avionics engineer at Boeing.

Mike's hard work, time management and ability to work well with others were evident while in high school. For example, in swimming he was one of the fastest swimmers in Missouri...and even his competitors liked and respected him. These skills have continued to help him throughout his career. 

Mariam Nawas - Parkway South High School, Class of 2007
(to be Inducted in 2024)

Mariam Nawas graduated from Parkway South High in 2007. From high school she enrolled in the 6-year BA/MD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she completed her undergraduate and medical degrees. Her internship and residency were at the University of California San Francisco Health. From there she had a Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, NY. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine.

She has been involved in research in hematology and oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NY as well as the University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL. She is focused on bone marrow transplants and leukemia, which is fast-paced, complex and multidisciplinary. It involves working with a team and as a team to combine data and good judgment to create the best plans for the patients.

Her passion for medicine comes from her brother's life-threatening leukemia diagnosis as a child.  The strong positive impact his physician left on her parents made a lasting impression on Mariam.  Her passion for this area of medicine drives her to help others.

Steve Sobo - Parkway Central High School, Class of 1980

Steve Sobo, P.E., FMP, SFP, is currently the Executive Director of Strategic Projects for Washington University School of Medicine. He leads in operations, budgeting, and project management. He was recently recognized by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis News keeping the construction of the neuroscience building on time and under budget. Persevering despite pandemic challenges. (Sept. 30, 2021). It all came down to collaboration and planning among the project team, stakeholders, and design and construction partners. This structure is one of the university's most ambitious and is poised to have positive and profound effects on the health and quality of life of thousands of people with neurological conditions, Delays, even during a pandemic, simply were not an option. Steve and his team have also managed the Siteman Cancer Center construction projects, the Genome Sequencing Data Center projects, the Couch Biomedical Research building, and many others.  He was the Program Manager on the original BJC Institute of Health project as the School of Medicine continues to be one of the leading institutions working closely with BJC Healthcare to advance medical research.  Steve has been recognized many times, here's just a portion of the awards: American Subcontractors Association -Midwest Council 2014 Owner of the Year.  Recognized with the Joe Rinke Owner of the year, Steve Sobo, Washington University School of Medicine SLCC Labor- Management 2013 Awards recognizing leaders in the St. Louis Construction industry.  Steve is currently on the design oversight board for Great Rivers Greenway for the Brickline Greenway project. Steve is often called upon to be a keynote speaker representing construction leadership. At the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers, Steve Sobo of WUSM as Director of Capitol Projects along with Mike Lawless from KJWW Engineering Consultants presented Commissioning and Start-Up. Discussing the Couch Biomedical Research Building and Mid Campus Center. Discussing the factors that contributed to successful commissioning and start up of WUSM's newest facility and the following lessons learned that are being applied to current projects.

Steve has an active role in St. Louis in the area of Supplier Diversity helping develop and mentor minority and women-owned construction companies.  He also plays an important role in workforce development as co-chair of the Diversity and Training Committee with SLCC and AGC.  He currently sits on the Governance Board of SLCC as he represents the large owners of St. Louis in the construction procurement area working with the construction unions and contractors.

Steve has volunteered with other programs in St. Louis including College Bound and the Mehlville School Districts Facilities Committee.