“It took me a long time to figure out that that was what was missing from my life,” Cindy Romback reflects on the period in her life after leaving the army. During a time in search of greater purpose, she found new meaning in service to her community and country through Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI). Cindy, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, now leads as manager of the Habitat Chesapeake ReStore in Columbia, MD.
At 24 and fresh out of college, Cindy sought greater independence, driven by a deep-rooted commitment to service instilled by her family. Her father set a powerful example, being a veteran of the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1970 as a C-130 Loadmaster for the U.S. Air Force. Cindy joined the Army in 1999, serving until 2004 as a Signals Intelligence Analyst and a Korean Linguist.
When Cindy returned to civilian life, finding new ways to serve became a priority, which led her to HFHI’s mission of bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope, locally and internationally. Her first experience was especially meaningful – a Vietnam Veterans build she participated in alongside her father. Cindy describes these types of builds as a part of a powerful healing process, offering veterans the prospect to return to Vietnam not as soldiers, but as ambassadors of transformation. Decades after their service, they return dedicated to rebuilding and uplifting communities, turning a legacy of war into a foundation for hope and renewal.
For Cindy, the impact of these builds is profound. Witnessing veterans, “being willing to go back and deal with that pain so much later in life and to see how rewarding it was.” She has participated in six HFHI and local affiliate builds, two of which were part of the Vietnam Veteran build program. Cindy finds deep satisfaction in building homes with other veterans because “it all goes back to the sense of service that’s ingrained in most service members, that’s why they call us service members.” For her, it’s all about camaraderie, “when you put a group of veterans together that are all like-minded, the team just gels immediately.”
Volunteering as a way of continuing to serve after leaving the military has a lasting positive effect, not only for the lives of the homeowners, but for the veterans as well. “When you get hands-on and you get your hands dirty, it feels different. It’s like the homeowners putting sweat equity into a home, only we’re giving of ourselves to make that difference.”
Cindy explains that she has a self-diagnosed condition she affectionately calls “Habitat-itis”, a term used by returning HFHI volunteers to describe the undeniable compulsion they feel to keep coming back after their first build experience.
According to Cindy, her favorite part of volunteering with Habitat is when “you’re seeing the homeowner every day. You’re playing with their cat. You’re hugging their children. You’re seeing the immediate impact. The smiles on their faces as the house goes up. As their windows go in. As their roof gets replaced. It’s an immediate reaction and an immediate sense of gratification.”
She continues to volunteer on builds, including an upcoming Veterans Day Build with Habitat Chesapeake. For Cindy, the best part about working at a ReStore is knowing that she’s providing an important service for her community.