The dominant theme of Chicagoan Carol Imhof's recent past has been change. At 14, she switched from parochial schools and their austere discipline to the more tolerant public school system -- and received one of the larger shocks of her adolescence. "The nuns were strictly old school and had made sure I learned their way of thinking. When I changed schools, I suddenly discovered that there were other life styles." Four years after that awakening, Carol became part of today's most volatile community: the college campus. Away from home for the first time, she began to develop the most salient quality of her character: a quiet independence of thought and action. When illness forced her to drop out of Southern Illinois University after finishing only half the requirements for her degree, she took it as an opportunity rather than as a setback, returned to Chicago, landed a job as Penthouse Bunny in the Playboy Club and moved into the Bunny Dormitory in Hugh Hefner's Mansion. "I stayed there for eight months and then I got my own place. I liked the other girls, but I wanted to live alone." Although Carol has remained a Bunny -- and even finished as first runner-up in the Bunny of the Year contest (see our March 1970 issue) -- she's been drifting away from the urban life of Chicago. "First I had an apartment in the city; then I moved to the suburbs; now I want a place in the country, someplace with a lot of greenery." And Miss December expects that one day she'll turn in her Bunny ears -- but not for a while. "Right now, I'm getting into other things -- especially modeling. When I can get enough free-lance work to support myself, I'll probably leave the Club. It's been wonderful, but you can have too much of a good thing." In her off hours, Carol confesses to one major vice: She loves betting on the horses. A boyfriend began taking her to the track, taught her how to read the Racing Form, and that did it -- she was hooked. "After a while, he stopped taking me. Whenever I went along, he lost." She still gets out to the races on occasion -- whenever she can find a more compatible escort. For the future, marriage is certain, but not looming; more travel, especially to the tropics, is in the cards. Her modeling career has priority. "I don't really follow fashion much. I would never wear a midi except when I model. It's a designers' conspiracy." Whatever the future, Miss December looks to it with open-minded expectation. "Nobody at parochial school -- especially me -- would have dreamed I would become a Bunny and Playmate. I'm sure I'll be just as surprised by whatever happens to me in the next seven years." We think readers will agree that Carol makes a nice Christmas surprise herself.