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College of Engineering Alumni Couple Give Back Through Time, Talent and Treasure

Couple pose for photo on porch

Carlene Iverson still remembers the class that confirmed she had found the right major.

“I took an IME 101 course and was sold,” said Iverson, who earned her industrial engineering degree from Cal Poly in 2005. “It was the perfect fit for me because I am passionate about process improvement and lean. A lot of the principles that we learned at Cal Poly are very applicable to my day-to-day job and to life in general.”

Now a senior manager at Stryker, Iverson has turned that connection to industrial engineering into support for the students following her. She serves on the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department’s Industry Advisory Board, has sponsored senior projects and has referred Cal Poly graduates who later joined her company.

She and her husband, Daniel Iverson, an aerospace engineering alumnus and senior manager at Apple, also established the Iverson Family Scholarship. The scholarship provides a $1,000 annual award to an IME student.

Their support reflects the role Cal Poly played in shaping their careers and bringing them together.

Couple pose after graduation
Carlene and Daniel Iverson during their time as Cal Poly students. The couple met through the Engineering Student Council and graduated in 2005 with degrees in industrial engineering and aerospace engineering, respectively.

Carlene and Daniel had mutual friends as students, but their relationship grew through their involvement in the Engineering Student Council.

“Dan and I had mutual friends, but we really started spending time together on the Engineering Student Council, and that’s where we met,” Carlene said.

Both credit Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing approach with preparing them for their careers. Carlene has continued to draw on the process improvement and lean principles she studied in IME, while Daniel said his exposure to several engineering disciplines helped him work effectively across technical teams.

“Being able to go into the EE lab or the ME lab and know my way around or speak the language of the engineers and technicians working there has always given me a leg up, both in the aerospace field and now in commercial tech,” he said.

As their children have grown older, the couple has found more opportunities to give back through professional involvement and philanthropy. Carlene’s work with the IME Department gives her a direct role in connecting students with industry expectations and career opportunities.

The couple remains closely tied to Cal Poly and the Central Coast. They were married in Avila Beach, own a vacation home in the area and often return for games and campus events. They hope their children might one day become Mustangs as well.

At home in San Jose, they have also found a broad community of Cal Poly alumni through their children’s schools and activities.

“We’ve expanded our Cal Poly network here,” Carlene said. “There’s a lot of pride, a lot of Cal Poly bumper stickers and license plate frames.”

Daniel said their support for students is rooted in gratitude for the opportunities their education made possible.

“I could never have predicted the value of going to Cal Poly,” he said. “Having that degree has been invaluable. We’re very fortunate, and giving back feels like the right thing to do.”