Long-time CCRI worker Craig plans for retirement

Carol Craig, retiring soon from her post as administrative assistant in academic affairs, started working at CCRI as a student herself; she was the student helper to Bob Henderson, Fred Colonies and Chuck D’Arezzo in the old Rhode Island Junior College building on Promenade Street in Providence. She later transferred to Rhode Island College to become certified in elementary education.

After graduation from RIC, she was unable to find a teaching job right away, so she came back to CCRI and began working in the computer center in 1972, a time when computers took up entire rooms and data entry was done by a team of keypunch operators. She spent ten years in the Warwick computer center, then went to Lincoln to help staff the Center for Business and Industry, a division now part of Lifelong Learning.

Craig became part of the academic affairs division in Warwick more than twenty years ago, and has seen bosses and co-workers come and go. “I’ve worked with such a great variety of people, and enjoyed it so much,” she says.

Retirement will be a busy time for Craig. She plans on catching up with her many CCRI friends who’ve beaten her to retirement. She’ll travel – she has a brother in Paris and a sister in New York – and set some time aside to cook “mom’s takeout” for her daughter, a student at URI. Craig says that this will be her first summer off since she started working at 15 years old, so she’ll enjoy the relaxation.

After some respite, Craig says she hopes to work part-time, fulfilling her youthful ambitions of working with children, perhaps in a library or a day-care setting. She has even offered her services to come back and help conduct orientation sessions at CCRI.

When asked what she’ll miss most about the college, Craig is quick to name several long-time working relationships she’s had here, including her friendship with Dean Peter Woodberry. Most of the others, like former Vice President Bob Silvestre, are already living out their retirement adventures. In fact, she laughs, she may run into fellow East Greenwich resident and recently retired vice president Bob Henderson on Main Street.

“I love this college. I’m grateful for the opportunity it gave my daughter to get a great education, I’m grateful for the friends I’ve made and the students I’ve met,” says Craig. “I’ll miss it, but I’ll always stay connected to CCRI.”