Carole Lopez
Carole Lopez is a dedicated human services professional, recovery advocate, and student leader whose life and career have been shaped by resilience, service, and personal transformation. Living a life of recovery since 2011, Carole turned her experiences into a calling to help others navigate addiction, higher education, and personal growth. She earned her associate’s degree and certifications in drug and alcohol recovery counseling and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Human Services at Palm Beach State College to expand her ability to serve students, families, and vulnerable populations. Her work is grounded in faith, compassion, and a deep belief in redemption and second chances.
For the past four years, Carole has worked in higher education, where she has focused on supporting students through both academic and personal challenges. As the TRIO representative for the Lake Worth campus of Palm Beach State College, she helps students complete college applications and FAFSA forms, connects them with food, clothing, and community resources, and guides them through the transition from high school to college life. Carole walks alongside students from enrollment through graduation, offering mentorship, encouragement, and counseling throughout their educational journey. Passionate about breaking cycles of hardship, she also encourages parents to pursue education alongside their children, helping families grow together through learning and opportunity.
Carole is especially passionate about advocating for community college students experiencing housing insecurity, an issue she understands personally. After creating recovery programming at a previous campus, she later returned to establish a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless community college students access stable housing and support services. She believes this overlooked population deserves greater visibility and resources, and she continues to use her voice to raise awareness and create change. In addition to her campus and nonprofit work, Carole is an active member of organizations including the American College of Healthcare Executives Florida student chapter and student leadership groups at PBSC. She is also an Herbalife distributor, supporting women in recovery through wellness, confidence-building, and healthy living, while reminding others that there is beauty, hope, and purpose in recovery.
• CCC in Drug and Alcohol Recovery
• CCC in Addiction (in progress)
• Manchester Community College
• Palm Beach State College- B.A.Sc.
• Excellence Award in Service
• Campus Leadership Award
• CEO Advisory Award
• Student Government Association President at Manchester Community College
• Donor Circle Brick at Manchester Community College
• Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
• American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) in Florida
• Health Executive Student Organization of Palm Beach State College
• Matia's Place (Nonprofit organization for homeless community college students)
• Health Executive Student Organization volunteer work with hospitals
• Cancer walks
• AA and NA programs
• Church community service
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my recovery journey, which has taught me perseverance, resilience, and the importance of faith since 2011. I’m also deeply grateful for the mentors, community members, and support systems that guided and encouraged me along the way, inspiring me to give back and serve others.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
When I first started college, I was still going through the transition of not thinking I was good enough or smart enough. I had gotten a C in one of my classes, and I thought that for you to go to college, you have to be a straight-A student and be perfect. One of my deans caught me in the hallway crying, and he was like, 'Carol, it's okay. Listen, you know C's get degrees too, right? And once you earn that degree, nobody's ever gonna look back at what your grades were. They just need to see that you earned that degree. You're doing great! You've accomplished a lot. There's a lot of people in your circumstances and in your situation that wouldn't even have kept going and made it this far. Don't do this to yourself. Just keep going, just keep going. Don't do this. You don't have to be perfect in college. You just have to pass your classes in college.' I think that was the strongest thing that turned me around in that college, and ever since, I just started to shine in my classes because I was no longer worried that I had to be perfect and get an A.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You do not have to be perfect to succeed; persevere through the hard moments, commit to healing from past trauma, and be intentional about who you choose to become, because those choices are what will truly set you apart.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is the growing issue of homelessness among community college students and the lack of targeted federal and institutional support for this underserved population. At the same time, I see a tremendous opportunity to build programs like Matia’s Place that provide safe housing and demonstrate to communities, funders, and government leaders the long-term impact of investing in community college students and their futures.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I love going to pray at the beach, I love community service, and the majority of my free time is really spent at church and in AA programs and NA programs, because that work never stops for us. Outside of work and school, my kids are my life. They are everything. I have a 19 and a 21-year-old, about to be 22 in July, and I just became a grandmother this year. They are everything that I work hard for. I'm trying to show them a path of redemption and recovery. Things can go wrong, but you always have the power to make a change. Who you were once or who you grew up as is not the definition of your character. Who you choose to be is gonna set you apart. I teach them all the time that it's their responsibility to go heal from mommy trauma and from these things that I didn't know I was putting on them at the time. But now that we know better, we have the choice and the options to do better. The majority of my outside-of-work time goes to my kids, my grandkids, my church families, and the beach. I do all the hard work behind the scenes, quietly, never expecting anything in return, because it's just the right thing to do. I know how hard it has been a struggle for my life, so anybody that I see that needs help, it's an automatic reaction to just serve and just help. That's not what I'm here for, to be thanked or paid back.