Trueline Spotlight: An (e)Quest(rian) for Success and Growth
It’s not an exaggeration to say Carolyn Rosazza comes from a family of farmers.
Soon after her ancestors came to America from Rosazza, a village in northern Italy, they settled in Avondale, Pennsylvania and began working at a stone quarry.
Shortly after, Carolyn’s great-great-grandfather, a quarry worker turned florist, started O. Rosazza & Son Greenhouses. He added Glen Willow Orchards to the family businesses in 1955 after the flower business boomed during 1930s and 1940s. The orchards, though not the flower business, remain in operation today, growing everything from apples and peaches to corn and hay.
“My dad is a third-generation co-owner of the family’s farming business, Glen Willow Orchards, with his cousin, and I’ve always been on the farm and have learned the tools of the trade,” Carolyn says.
After many years away from home for college and a life adventure in Texas, Carolyn is back in her hometown thinking of her future. As an only child, running the family business is possible, but she could also see herself enjoying life out West in a state like Colorado.
“Emily Haefner, also a sales development coordinator, lives out there, and we have a good vibe,” Carolyn says. “I’m excited to meet her one day—and everyone else at Trueline.”
Horsing Around
Carolyn’s mother, Mary Lou, grew up in western New York and spent her teenage years riding Arabian horses. Her family had a 65-acre farm, with a 10-stall barn and an indoor riding arena which Mary Lou ran as her first business venture—boarding and training horses and giving lessons.
Mary Lou has worked at the University of Pennsylvania’s Large Animal Hospital, better known as the New Bolton Center, for more than 43 years and passed her love of horses down to her daughter. Carolyn says she first rode a horse when she was two years old and would throw a tantrum if they wouldn’t stop and feed Belly—a family friend’s horse—on the way home from any errand or school day.
“Then, when I was four, I shared a pony named Belle,” Carolyn says. “With Belle, I competed in my first equestrian competition when I was five.”
As she grew up, Carolyn considered becoming a veterinarian, but a lot of vets and vet techs she knew through her mother told her to pursue a different path because there is more money working with people. So instead, she studied neuroscience at Virginia Tech.
“I wanted a big school in the country with a decent football team, so Virginia Tech in Blacksburg was a dream,” she says.
While there, Carolyn competed on the school’s club equestrian team, and during her senior year, she created the Instagram and Facebook accounts for the Virginia Tech Hunter Team. She also was a student mentor in the College Mentor for Kids program for three years.
Riding with Trueline
After earning her degree in May 2019, she chose not to go to graduate school. With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, Carolyn moved to El Paso, Texas, in September 2020 with her then long-term boyfriend.
Her then partner was an officer in the military, so Carolyn was looking for a job that would allow her to continue working while moving around, if necessary. She came across a posting for a position with Trueline and had video conversations with Director of People and Culture Joy Wilkie, Chief Operating Officer PJ Rose and former Director of Sales Sean O’Reilly. She joined Trueline in September 2021.
As a sales development coordinator, Carolyn makes outbound pitch calls to potential features and works closely with managers Jason Williams and Alyssa LoVerso. She has enjoyed watching the department and company flourish and is looking forward to continued growth.
“And I’ve never been to Maine and am excited to come up soon and meet so many of the people I talk to and work with every day,” Carolyn says.
Bonus Facts on Carolyn Rosazza
Did you know? There’s a house on her family’s farm that was built in 1737—39 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Carolyn Rosazza shares a birthday—August 28—with Jack Black, Shania Twain, Daniel Stern and the director David Fincher.
Who’d play you? Blake Lively.
Bucket list: To visit Glacier National Park in Montana and Banff in Canada.
Greatest achievement so far: She was on the first ever Virginia Tech Equestrian (Hunter) Team to make it to IHSA Nationals, in 2018. Carolyn finished with a Reserve Championship in the 2018 IHSA National equestrian competition helping her team to a 7th place finish out of 16 teams (over 600 teams start the season competing throughout the country).
