Empowered by lifting

Her sister was the athlete in the family — the first Black student-athlete to attend New Mexico State University. Carolyn Scott gravitated more toward music and the arts. It might come as a surprise, then, that she is the family member now thriving in competition at the Doña Ana County Senior Olympics.

Scott is originally from Alamogordo, where her parents moved because of the Air Force. She earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and spent 25 years working for the state of New Mexico, largely focused on juveniles through the Children, Youth and Families Department.

After overseeing juvenile and parole offices across much of the state, Scott retired to care for her mother, who had dementia. Following her mother’s death, she began volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association, working as a storyteller and group facilitator for about eight patient groups.

In 2015, Scott was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which remains in its mild stages. Today, she devotes much of her time to daily workouts and training in her chosen sport — powerlifting.

“My doctors are loving that I’m doing this,” Scott said. “It’s keeping everything going, so I’m really pleased with that.”

It’s been a long time since Scott picked up a violin or sat down at a piano, but a barbell is another story. Exercise and physical activity now define her routine.

“My whole thing was music,” she said. “Until I met our coach, Rich Kahle. He was my yoga and tai chi instructor at what was then Senior Amigos. When Senior Amigos closed, a group of us just followed him.”

Kahle now trains his athletes at Bionic Barbell in Las Cruces. Scott initially preferred lifting light weights — an approach Kahle quickly dismissed.

“My first time at the gym, he looked at me and said, ‘If I see a five-pound weight anywhere near you, we’re going to have words,’” Scott said. “He kept telling me to go heavier, and then he started talking about powerlifting.”

Scott wasn’t interested at first, but Kahle didn’t let it go. Gradually, he introduced powerlifting concepts and competitions — not just to Scott, but to all his clients.

In December 2024, Scott entered her first powerlifting competition in Roswell through the Natural Athlete Sports Association.

From there, everything changed. Before she knew it, Scott was training for the Senior Games. In 2025, she competed at both the local and national levels.

“I never thought I’d be doing this, but I love it,” she said. “My very first competition included curls, bench press and deadlift. I didn’t want to squat because I hate squats.”

Since then, the Senior Games have eliminated curls and replaced them with squats — a change Scott has reluctantly accepted.

Kahle continues to push her, often from a distance. Much of Scott’s success, she said, comes from his high expectations.

“He can be on the other side of the gym and still see you,” Scott said. “He’ll be upstairs while you’re down here and yell, ‘Squat lower.’ I’m like, ‘How can you even see me from there?’”

Training for competition brings full-body workouts and daily gym sessions.

“When we first started, you’d be sore for days,” Scott said. “Now you might hurt that day, but you wake up the next morning and it’s not so bad.”

Scott said one of her favorite aspects of powerlifting is the sense of community.

“You meet so many people and it becomes this huge family,” she said. “They call it a competition, but it doesn’t feel like one. Everyone is encouraging everyone else. If someone’s struggling to get the bar up, you’re yelling for them because you’re all in it together.”

Scott’s determination has fueled her success in powerlifting, just as it has throughout her life.

“My parents always pushed us to do the best we could,” she said. “Education mattered. There was no question — you graduate high school, you graduate college, you get an advanced degree. Once you set your mind to something, you give it everything and follow through.”

Music and ballet were central to Scott’s upbringing. Her parents understood what it meant to grow up as a young Black woman and raised their daughters to be well-rounded and resilient.

Though she no longer plays instruments, music remains part of her strength training.

“I get songs in my head, especially when I’m deadlifting,” Scott said. “I feel the beat. Sometimes it’s ‘Solo Bossa Nova’ by Quincy Jones — that was my mom’s favorite — or the theme from Shaft.”

Music calms her and carries her through the lift — a thread connecting past and present. While strength training now dominates her daily life, Scott’s love of music has come full circle, powering her in ways she never expected.