Carol Ann Budd

Carol Ann went to university after she already had children.  The hardest part for her was that “I missed being with my kids when I had to spend weekends doing homework – having to put my family and friends lower on my priority list was hard.”  But Carol Ann always imagined herself working in a lab and with numbers, so she was determined to finish school.

In 1989, Carol Ann graduated from Queen’s University as a Chemical Engineer. She then worked for a company called Dupont (now called Invista) for 20 years.  As part of a team, she got to work with people from all over the world.  Her job was to design and do experiments and to put the results into the company’s products.  It was also important for her to be able to explain the results to other people within the company.

Carol Ann now works as a consultant, but still uses what she learned in engineering. “I was taught how to solve problems, to work well with numbers, to analyze situations and to share information clearly with others. All of those things I still do in my new job, even though it is not an engineering job.”

Carol Ann has spent many years encouraging young Indigenous people to stay in school and study science and math.  These classes are important because “you will have many more choices available to you and get the job you want. The skills and training you learn can make a positive difference in your community.”