Major: Math
Originally from Malone, NY
Currently divides her time between Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, IL
While at Clarkson, Staples was a member of the Society of Women Engineers and the Clarkson College Student Association, as well as a calculus tutor. She worked for 25 years in engineering and sales in positions of increasing responsibility for the Carrier Corporation in Syracuse, NY, Detroit, and Los Angeles. Staples retired from Carrier as Director of International Sales. When her daughter was four years old, she became a stay-at-home Mom and began her second career as a volunteer, which has involved jobs as varied as producer of elementary, middle, and high school musicals, Girl Scout leader, choir chaperone on overseas competitions, National Charity League parent supervisor, worker in Mission Hospital’s Valiant Women program, and active member of the Democratic Party of Southern California. She is the mother of Desiree.
In this interview clip, Staples provides advice for young women going into engineering and technical fields, suggesting that they relax, trust their instincts, and remember that it is normal to have failures along the way. Staples’ interview included her classmates Martha Callahan Annoni and Valerie Barlow Jerabeck.