Carolyn Koole named 2019 Alumnus of the Year at Cornerstone University

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Carolyn Koole of Fallbrook was honored by Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as the university's Professional and Graduate Studies' 2019 Alumnus of the Year, May 11.

Cornerstone University annually recognizes outstanding alumni who have achieved success in their personal and professional lives and who have distinguished themselves through service to the university.

Koole is the executive director of the Fallbrook Pregnancy Resource Center. The center recently moved into their remodeled office building on Hawthorne Street in downtown Fallbrook.

She is married to Richard Koole, Ph.D., who is the pastor of LifePointe Church in Fallbrook. Both are active members of the Fallbrook community. They have five adult children and nine grandchildren.

Carolyn Koole was a student at Cornerstone University for two years before the couple were married, and she chose to stay at home for 20 years, raising their five young children. As the children grew older, she returned to college after a 25-year absence and graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. In 2003, she completed her master's degree in public administration and nonprofit management and leadership.

Shortly thereafter, Koole became the director of planned giving at Cornerstone University. This position was followed by other leadership positions with nonprofits dedicated to coming to the aid of girls and women in crisis. They included "Women at Risk" and "Alpha Women's Center."

During this time, she started her own business, "A Shared Hope," which writes grants to support families with special needs children requiring funds for respite and individualized education.

Last year Koole was one of the plaintiffs in a freedom of speech case against the state of California that went to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in her favor, thus protecting pregnancy resource centers in California from state mandated speech referring clients for abortion.

Submitted by Dr. Richard Koole.