Making a sustainable impact
Carol Duquette ’85, ’03S (MBA), P’18
Rochester, NY
As an undergraduate majoring in geomechanics, Carol Duquette ’85, ’03S (MBA), P’18 was impressed with the strong science and engineering programs at the University of Rochester, and the opportunities she had available. Her appreciation for the University deepened as several of her nieces and nephews followed her and earned their own Rochester degrees before launching successful careers; today, her son, Sidney, is a freshman at the University, majoring in Biomedical Engineering.
“When I look at the whole package, from academics to the infrastructure and opportunities available at the UofR, there is an incredible support system in place and the opportunities are amazing,” said Carol. “The University focuses on giving students a broad education and critical thinking skills that they can apply in any situation to be successful.”
After graduating, Carol worked as an engineer and consultant for the City of Rochester, a land development consulting firm, and architectural firms before joining Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. in 1996, where she is now vice president of design services and maintenance. She and her teams keep the award-winning, regional supermarket chain on the forefront of sustainability in its industry.
Carol earned an MBA at Simon School while at Wegmans, and says it has been instrumental in helping her manage a significant capital budget and critical business aspects of her job. “The executive MBA at Simon is an awesome program. Professors Cliff Smith, Jerry Warner, Avi Seidmann, and Ron Goettler were phenomenal — their courses made the biggest difference in my life.”
Building on her lifelong passion for sustainability and reducing energy consumption, Carol is now working with the Hajim School to offer internship opportunities to students, some of whom go on to work at Wegmans after graduation. “I took part in a wonderful internship while at Rochester, working at the Department of Conservation to research contamination of salt beds. Some of the mapping I did is still used by the DEC today. Having that real-world experience is invaluable and I’m happy to bring it full-circle by offering similar opportunities to today’s students.
“There is no question that both of my educational experiences — at the Hajim School and at Simon — have made me more prepared and more deeply and broadly educated than my peers,” said Carol. “Supporting the Hajim School through the George Eastman Circle underwrites and sustains all the experiences and opportunities that are such an invaluable part of a Rochester education.”
—Nancy Zawacki, May 2017
