Strolling through the Center for Campus Life, you’ve likely walked past her hundreds of times. 

Carol Reed, senior associate director and manager of Campus Life Facilities, is a redheaded woman with glasses and a bright smile. For the last 39 years, she’s was a force in coordinating change across campus, and this year she retired. 

What you might not know about the Waterbury, Connecticut native is that she served two years as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps on the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Native American reservations in Montana. The program, which is now part of AmeriCorps, is one of many long-term service opportunities across the nation. 

After graduating from Ladycliff College in 1972 with a Bachelor’s degree in education, Reed was eager to empower students. She says teaching on the reservation was an eye-opening experience. 

“I took a young Native American lady home with me for Christmas one year. I got very, very close to one of the Crow families,” she said. “It was just a very different experience. Their appreciation for nature, how they always thanked God before they did anything. They were a grateful people. You learned a lot about their cultures.”

Reed says her desire to learn more about indigenous people stems from her family’s experience living near a reservation in Los Alamos, New Mexico. It was here that her father was stationed and her older sister was born. 

“We used to get these [Native American] magazines all the time. As a result of that, I was fascinated by the Native American culture,” she said. “When I was graduating in ‘72, we were dealing with Vietnam [War] and teachers were a dime a dozen. I was just very, very intrigued. I was young, and so I had nothing to keep me back.”

After two years of volunteering, Carol continued teaching on the reservation for an additional two years. In 1978, she left to pursue a master’s in counseling from the University of Maine with hopes of returning to the reservation after. However upon graduating, she began working professionally in residence life— the experience that ultimately led to employment at Rochester Institute of Technology.  

“When I came to RIT, at the time, there was an Office of Minority Student Affairs,” Reed continued. “This was when Ganandagan was just getting built up… I worked with the Native American students in the office then things evolved and changed, and today we have a much more lucrative Office of Diversity and Inclusion.” 

Since coming to RIT in 1981, Reed has also worked on the renovation of residence halls, creation of the Campus Center, and creation of WITR’s Studio X in the Student Alumni Union. She’s also acted as an advisor for WITR radio station and the Student Government Finance Committee. She encourages more RIT students to consider long-term service opportunities and says it isn’t just for individuals struggling to figure out their next move.  

“There is so much opportunity to learn about people and to be invested in people’s lives, you just have to be someone who’s open to new adventures,” Reed said. “You might find that experience [post grad service] would enhance what you have to offer at your next opportunity.”