My Inspiration to Run for Governing Board

Deciding to run for office, especially in today’s political climate, is daunting. So why did I decide to do it?

Two reasons: my son and my high school guidance counselor, Jen Goldman.

The first reason is obvious, my son and his experience in first grade has been eye opening. Going to school today is not like how I remember my elementary school experience. My son doesn’t have sports, no recitals, and no extra curricular activities. It’s sad and there’s nothing fun about it. He also has had 3 different teachers and I never met one of them. I finally met the third teacher at the final parent teacher conference of the year. On top of that, there’s no opportunities to volunteer. I want to change his experience at school.

When I was in elementary school I remember having recitals, basketball tryouts, and fun activities outside of learning. Mrs. Taylor the music teacher put on some amazing shows, I can still remember the Dinosaur Dip song! Although I didn’t make the basketball team, tryouts were fun and I won a Dr. Pepper. These are the memories I want my son to have in elementary school.

The second reason for running, is my high school guidance counselor Jen Goldman, or as I like to call her JGo! She still works at my old high school and is amazing at her job. Not only helping students but truly being there for them before, during, and after graduation. The bonds she builds with students, last a lifetime. Which is why I am still in touch with her to this day!

One day I got tagged in a post, with a link to apply for a school board vacancy. “You’d be amazing at this!” I looked at the application and was intimidated. However, what she said stuck with me. I kept wondering why she thought I would be amazing at this...

Her belief in me, helped me to believe in myself, even after over a decade since graduating. When she said I would be amazing, I believed her and began to believe in myself. That is the power of a positive student teacher relationship. When a teacher believes in you, it can change your life and that is what happened.

I applied for the vacancy and after the Washington Elementary School Board members reviewed all the applications, I was a top choice. So I was asked to interview with the Maricopa County Superintendent of Public Schools. The interview was intense, in a highrise in midtown Phoenix. However, I did a great job and felt good about it. Maybe I would get the position.

Then I got the bad news, I didn’t get to fill the vacancy. I was bummed. It turns out that I wanted it more than I thought. That feeling stuck with me.

A couple months past and my son started school in the district and I quickly learned that what was going on was not good. His school was lacking so much and the turnover was insane. So I decided I needed to run for office.

In February 2022, I filed my statement of interest and the rest is history. The next goal is to win the election!

The moral of this story is that teachers are important, when we trust them to do what they do best- teach. Along with building a bond and trust with students, a positive life-long relationship is created. My teachers have changed my life and made me feel safe. They’ve helped me believe in myself even when I didn’t believe in me. Let’s give this gift to the kids in school today, it will change their lives for the better too.

Thank you JGo! I am so grateful for you.