New Experiences, New Values: Profile of Carlie Guilfoile

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” Carlie Guilfoile did just that last year.

In the spring of 2007, Carlie was nearing the end of her high school career and was faced with the same choices multitudes of students are. However, unlike many of the others, Guilfoile opted to take a risk.

“I was scared to take a year off but I realized I simply like to do things that scare me. I like to push myself to see my limits,” Guilfoile explained.

Carlie decided that it would be in her best interest to not immediately
continue her education in a college but instead grow as an individual while traveling abroad to three different countries.

Guilfoile began her travels in Greece where she spent a month in a tent having never camped before. It was here that she worked with a turtle conservation program and was able to make an impact on her growing concerns for the
environment.

Carlie then traveled to South Africa where she experienced life in a township first hand. She was apart of a lower class community and worked at the local preschool. She recalled her fondest memory of her time spent there to be watching the children play at recess and the interaction she shared with them.

The last stop on her three part adventure was Guatemala. It was here that Carlie attended school to study Spanish. And although she has a background in the language, Guilfoile found this to be the most mentally challenging place to travel. She was placed in a home with a family who did not speak any English.

Carlie stated, “There were lots of tears but it made me value communication so
much more.”

Carlie’s mother shared that she was very pleased Carlie choose to take a year off. She felt her daughter grew up a lot during this time and was awarded the opportunity to learn who she is as a person without the influence of family and friends. Guilfoile also personally credits this to be her biggest accomplishment and the source of her gaining independence.

After completing her year off, Carlie made the decision to come to Tech where she is currently apart of the University Studies program. Interior design has always been a huge passion for her and for this very reason she hopes to get into the school of architecture to complete this major.

Coincidently, Guilfoile is obsessed with IKEA. This large home furnishing store is filled with everything she loves. She enthused, “I get really excited about interior places!” In fact, our interview was held in what could be considered a fairly empty room with plain walls and a few pieces of mismatched furniture. Carlie’s face lit up when she talked about all the things she would do with the study lounge given the opportunity.

Carlie’s mother also mentioned that they moved into a new home last year. She shared that Carlie took great pleasure in combing through many design catalogs and created her very own work space within their home that is very brightly colored and comfortable, a reflection of her personality.

Although Carlie’s adventures in traveling and her career goals are a reflection of who she is, there is much more to her personality and life.

Carlie Susan Guilfoile, or Carr as her friends call her, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and spent a mere two months there. She and her family moved to Dallas where she resided for eight years before finally picking up and moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina where she has happily lived the past 11 years of her life. The multiple changes in environment has led to Carlie’s outgoing personality which is obvious from the moment you meet her.

Guilfoile’s roommate shared that her first impressions of Carlie where actually the exact opposite in what she was excepting to find in a roommate. She feels that Carlie is a very outgoing and determined person who others view as laid back and easy to talk with. Her best friend of seven years, Mari said she believed Guilfoile’s “care free spirit, energy, eagerness for adventure and enthusiasm for anything different,” makes her the unique person she is.

Her colorful personality is something which she has always possessed. Her mother recalled one of her fondest memories of Carlie being when she was a small child and strapped in her car seat. She had mistakenly left her purse within Carlie’s reach and when she turned to check on her, she discovered her daughter to be covered in lipstick from head to toe. Another time, she expressed her creative nature by giving herself a haircut which was described as, “not pretty, but pretty funny!”

When it comes down to who Carlie is and what she enjoys, it is apparent that she is your average, down to earth girl. She describes herself as a very competitive person who loves to be apart of a good challenge. Carlie was a member of a soccer team for 13 years but opted to quit playing her junior year of high school. The sport was a large part of her life and she often
contemplates picking it back up.

Carlie loves nothing more than chocolate and a good bowl of dumplings which get her through her hardest days. And of course, she has two very close friends who she enjoys spending her free time with. Her favorite thing to do with the girls is to get coffee in a small café in Chapel Hill called Driade. This is one of the things she misses from home but knows it will make going back even better.

Guilfoile values nothing more than an interesting conversation. She thoroughly enjoys coming into contact with new people who have perspectives on life that are different than her own. She shared, “I love to branch out and talk to people.”

All of the experiences in Carlie Guilfoile’s life has had impact on the person she is today and the goals she has set for her future. Her traveling has given her the thirst to learn more about other cultures and communication. Guilfoile desires to spend time traveling to many other places and to make herself the most well rounded individual possible while still doing what she loves.

--by Jordan Hunt