Carol Boyd Amos, Chem E ’78, MEng ’79, dates her involvement with Cornell from an invitation to serve on the board of the Cornell Society of Engineers. She thought it sounded like an interesting opportunity as well as a chance to give something back. On the board, she was active in creating the CSE Alumni Speakers Week in 1998; for the last six years she has coordinated the alumni speakers for the Engineering 150 course, which all freshmen take. Before serving on the CSE board, she was active with the Cornell Black Alumni Association.

Carol began working for the DuPont Company after graduating from Cornell, and she is currently a manager of project engineering for the company. Her assignments have included serving as a research engineer for Kevlar® processes, marketing automotive finishes, and managing the careers of young engineers in the DuPont Field Engineering Program. The main focus of her career, however, has been managing capital projects for DuPont fibers and polyester businesses. She is a DuPont certified Black Belt in the DuPont Six Sigma program for quality and process improvement and is also a diversity consultant.

Carol is married to Alvin Amos, a music professor at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. She is an avid tennis player and a youth leader at her church.

"I received a lot from Cornell. You have to prove yourself and be persistent. Putting it all together, I became a better person. Engineering teaches you a way of thinking, how to do problem solving. You learn your strengths and weaknesses, so that when you’re out in industry you can play to your strengths and either consult with someone or do extra reading or research in your weaker areas.

"The CSE board is a great group of folks to work with. They all want to make the engineering experience better for the students. It also gives you a different perspective on Cornell. The board members are using their engineering degrees in every possible area, so the networking is great. I especially enjoy it when CSE board meetings are held at a member’s business and we go on tours of the facilities, see how other companies run their business.

"One of the engineering students recommended that alumni come back and speak, and I was the one who helped to get that going for the freshmen. I worked with CSE and other alumni to bring in speakers who had been working for less than ten years. The key is to really motivate the students, bringing speakers in just before prelim week to let students know we’ve all gone through that but all managed to graduate and get interesting work.

"I’ve now rotated off the CSE board. You can be on two terms, then you take a year off. It gives the opportunity for others to be on the board. I do plan to go back on the board but will let someone else do the alumni speakers project and find another area to work on."