Knightly News

In 1990, “Home Alone” and “Dances with Wolves” hit the box office, the San Francisco 49ers were Superbowl Champions and “Ice Ice Baby” was on the radio. This weekend, members of the Episcopal Class of 1990, who likely remember these pop culture moments from their senior year, are back on campus. After three decades, the group will no doubt have a range of stories to share. Among them is Dr. Roy Carter, who describes his life as interesting and fun. He looks forward to coming back to the school that he considers “a wonderful place.”

Dr. Carter is a learner, explorer, husband and father. “I’m fortunate enough to have had a lot of great experiences,” he says. Those experiences include being a member of the first group of Episcopal students to participate in the Honors Thesis program. He remembers the discussions with his fellow thesis classmates as “thought-provoking.” Looking back, he recognizes that such experiences are how Episcopal taught him to think critically and solve problems. Since writing that Episcopal thesis years ago, Dr. Carter has had ample opportunity to draft others. He earned a civil engineering degree from LSU, a doctorate in chemical engineering from Tulane University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business.

With his unique combination of education and skills, Dr. Carter has enjoyed exciting career opportunities, including more than 10 years in the oil and gas industry. He studied fuel cells and specialty plastics through research sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. As a Senior Business Advisor for Chevron, he was part of the executive support team that delivered results to Wall Street. Eventually, his resume caught the attention of executives with Saudi Aramco, who reached out to him for assistance with the company’s IPO in 2019. Dr. Carter, his wife Erica and their twins relocated to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2018 and only recently returned to America at the end of 2020.

In speaking with Dr. Carter, there is a sense of joy, especially when he reflects on the knowledge he’s gained as an explorer. Dr. Carter has visited more than 50 countries and lived as an expat in Saudi Arabia, Mali and the country of Angola. His first brush with international travel was actually through an Episcopal summer travel program. Dr. Carter was one of two students selected to study in the French city of Angers, and the experience made an impression. “I developed a strong desire to see the world,” he says. He remembers thinking, “This is amazing.” It wasn’t long after that initial excursion that Dr. Carter was again exploring the world. After graduating from LSU, he joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer in Mali. He worked on basic sanitation projects in one of the poorest countries in the world and says everything you hear about how difficult work as a Peace Corps volunteer can be is absolutely true. He witnessed extreme hardship and became sick numerous times with everything from food poisoning to malaria. However, he looks back on the experience fondly. “It’s a wonderful and fascinating (albeit difficult) part of the world,” he says. 

Since his time in Mali, Dr. Carter has been to base camp at Mt. Everest and on safari in Africa. He loves Tibet, Turkey, Morocco, Amsterdam, Ethiopia, Egypt and Brazil. He’s introduced his six year old twins to travel and says they can’t wait to return to Thailand for a visit. Dr. Carter values the friends he’s found all over the world and the lessons he’s learned through travel. “It challenges your assumptions,” he says. “It changes your perspective and your life.”

After returning from Saudi Arabia last year, Dr. Carter and his family have settled in Houston. As someone who values learning and new experiences, he finds time to mentor young people through his membership in the 100 Black Men of Metro Houston. As a member of the Black Aerospace Professionals, he also speaks to students in the area about the options available to them if they stay in school and apply themselves.

When reflecting on his own experience as a student, he appreciates that his father pushed him and his brother, Brian, to attend Episcopal. “I am extremely fortunate and blessed to have been a part of the Episcopal family,” he says. He offers the following advice for the current seniors who will join him in the ranks of Episcopal alumni next spring:

1.  “The world is a big, beautiful place, don’t be afraid to go see it.”

2.  “If all of your friends agree with you, you need to get some more friends. You’re not being challenged enough. Expand your thinking/knowledge base and find people who don’t agree with you and have different viewpoints and understand why they think the way they do.”

After 30 years away from Episcopal, it should be exciting to come home. We look forward to seeing Dr. Carter and his classmates, and we welcome everyone to Homecoming 2021.

The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge 2024-2025 application is now available! ​For more information on the application process, to schedule a tour, or learn more about the private school, contact us at [email protected] or 225-755-2685.