Alumni Profiles

B.A., double major in Political Science and Environmental Studies, 2007

Syracuse University Maxwell School of Public Administration

Master of Public Administration, 2009

Fellow, Governor’s Policy Fellows

Annapolis, Md. 

To watch an interview with Carl, click here.

Carl Simon says it outright: He is what he is because of Guilford College. Here’s what he means — until he went to Guilford, he never would have thought of joining the AmeriCorps national service program, dedicating himself to helping others. And yet, as soon as he graduated from Guilford, he spent a year with Habitat for Humanity as a volunteer with AmeriCorps.  

There’s more. After the Habitat gap year, he enrolled in graduate school at Syracuse University because of Guilford. “During my senior year,” he says, “I visited [Guilford College President] Kent Chabotar, and I told him that I wanted to earn a master’s in public administration. He said, ‘All right. You’re going to the Maxwell School at Syracuse.’ And he helped make it happen.” 

As it turns out, President Chabotar is a graduate of the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Public Administration, and, Carl says, “He gave me a tremendously candid and thorough evaluation of the whole program. He also wrote me a letter of recommendation that helped me get admitted.” 

Carl was pleased with the decision: “After all, the Maxwell School is ranked #1 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report,” he says, “where the Harvard Kennedy School program comes in at #2.” 

A native of Ipswich, Mass., Carl found Guilford College through his love of lacrosse. A high school lacrosse standout, Carl played the sport for all four of his years at Guilford, even serving as captain of the team. 

We caught up with him as he was in transition to Annapolis, preparing to start the next leg of his life as a Fellow at the Maryland Governor’s Policy Fellows program. The program grooms its participants — recent recipients of graduate degrees — for careers in public policy at the state level, and it names a maximum of four Fellows per year. 

Public service, adding value to the community, social responsibility — Carl says: “My years at Guilford College — with its emphasis on service, community service, being active community members — that made it easy for me to decide to join AmeriCorps and now to build a career in public administration. I am very thankful for that.” 

He is not a Quaker, but “Quakerism certainly influenced me,” he says, adding, “the whole affect of the institution — its core, its background, its ethos — shapes the entire experience there. They’re never in your face with it, but the underpinnings are there. Also, my freshman year roommate was a Quaker, and he taught me a lot. Actually, when he turned 18 and it was time to register for the draft, he went through some major decision-making, and I learned from that. It showed his moral fiber, and I feel the whole Quaker component makes Guilford very special.” 

Carl adds that he himself wasn’t really as focused as he should have been in high school, and Guilford was “just what I needed, because at Guilford, you simply cannot hide. Really, if you miss class, the professors find you! They say ‘Are you OK? Why weren’t you in class? Is there anything I can help with?’ Even in class, if you’re not learning, they notice and they take steps to help you. That kind of sincere concern, that willingness to guide you, helped me fall in love with learning. It changed my life.” 

Carl says that at Guilford College, the professors are not there primarily to publish; they are there primarily to teach: “It’s a huge advantage for students who want access to leading scholars in their field. You can go to their office, talk, get to know them as scholars and as people.” 

It was a bold step for Carl to go to Guilford as a freshman. It meant leaving his home base, his whole support system, and entering uncharted waters: “My home was 14 hours away, so it was definitely an adventure. I went from Massachusetts, where we said ‘Can I get some cheddah on that?’ to this land of warmth, filled with people from all over. What an amazing way to expand your horizons, to get to know yourself better, to learn.” 

He says that the size and friendliness of Guilford made it easy. “You get to know people very quickly because the classes are so small, there are so many clubs and organizations to join, there are intramural sports … the choices are almost endless.” He adds that because the varsity sports are in Division III, “there is also an emphasis on service, on academics, on your social life.” 

For Carl, the biggest benefit of playing four years of lacrosse was learning effective time management. “Of course athletics gave me the chance to learn teamwork, to develop leadership skills, but time management was the biggest help of all. I tell you, when I got to graduate school at Syracuse, I was WAY less stressed about managing my time than the other students, and I give all credit for that to Guilford.” 

He certainly managed a full plate — a double major, varsity athletics, an internship in economic development with the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, study abroad in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. He obviously followed the advice he now passes on to others: “Do not choose a college that looks easy. If you choose Guilford College, be prepared to work. The harder you work, the more you’ll get out of it. What makes Guilford special is the professors. It all comes down to them. They really put in the work, they care about their students, they’re experts in their field and they have support from the administration — they’re allowed to show their personalities. That means that they can really bring academic material to life. It’s an amazing place.”