Cynthia Rold, Carroll University alumni award winner

Cynthia L. Rold '83

2017 Recipient for Distinguished Alumna Award for Community Service

When Cindy Rold graduated from Northwestern University School of Law, she turned down numerous job offers from law firms to follow her heart. Her heart connected her instead to a life of coaching and helping clients to recognize, understand, and overcome the sometimes invisible obstacles standing in their way of success, both professionally and personally.

After her graduation from law school, she felt passionate about helping law students recognize that they had many options when they graduated, and they didn't have to follow one path. As director of Career Services for Northwestern Law School and later dean of admissions for Duke Law School and dean of students for University of Illinois College of Law, her goal was to help students make the best choices for their lives.

A natural leader, Rold is past president of the Denver Coach Federation, which was selected as the #1 chapter in the world by the International Coach Federation during her tenure; past president of NALP (The Association for Legal Career Professionals); and past president of the Colorado Authors' League.

Rold has been volunteering since she was a child, sometimes through groups like the Girl Scouts and Job's Daughters and other times completely on her own. At 12, she decided to walk 20 miles in the March of Dimes Walk-a-Thon, even though she wasn't a walker or an athlete. She participated in the walk-a-thon for three years in a row. At 14, she became a candy striper because she was interested in medicine.

At Carroll, Rold was involved in numerous student clubs and activities and was recognized with the Junior Award, which was Carroll's most prestigious award at the time. Her senior year, she served as student body president, which took countless hours and gave her close involvement with students, faculty and staff.

Post-graduation, she served on Carroll's Alumni Council and volunteered to attend high school recruiting fairs in the Denver area as the sole representative of Carroll. She is drawn to organizations where community service is part of their mission. She served as a board member for the Alliance for Professional Women; and is a current member of the Littleton Rotary Club, whose motto is "Service Above Self", where she also serves as chair of its International Committee.

Rold was one of the first people to participate in Littleton Hospital's Pet Therapy Program, along with her Weimaraner, Misty. She has also volunteered with the City of Littleton Planning Commission, Denver Public Library, Habitat for Humanity, Friendship Bridge (an organization that provides micro-loans to women in Guatemala), Littleton Public Schools, Main Street Players, North Jeffco Senior Recreation Center, Ronald McDonald House, Westgate Elementary School and the Women's Vision Foundation.

When Rold sees a need, she jumps to fill it, whether the organization has publicized its desire for a volunteer or not. In 2014, she took her 10- and 12-year-old nieces on a safari to Tanzania. Knowing the great needs in Tanzania, she decided to include a community service aspect to the trip. She and her nieces raised over $4,000 to create a computer lab at a local elementary school and to take 50 pounds of medical supplies to a clinic whose shelves were bare. So not only is Rold doing community work herself, she is modeling how to do it to the next generation.

Rold provided pro bono coaching to the Executive Director of the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation and to a Board member at Kids in Need of Dentistry. Last year, Rold took the lead in organizing a very successful bra drive for Free the Girls, a non-profit that provides job opportunities for survivors of sex trafficking in developing countries.

As a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), Rold also went through an extensive training to learn how to advocate for abused and neglected children, and worked weekly with a youth helping provide impact as a caring, consistent adult in their life.

Rold graduated from Carroll in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in political science. She currently lives in Littleton, Colorado. For the past 15 years, Rold has worked as an executive coach, helping individuals from over 30 countries be more successful in their personal and professional lives. She works for the Anthony Robbins Company and The Marcus Buckingham Company.

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