Paulina Lopez for Person County Board of Education

I am a Person County native, and I attended our public schools from Kindergarten through High School.  I completed my Associate's degree in Criminal Justice at PCC in 2012, my Bachelor's degree in Forensic Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University in 2014, and my Master's degree in Political Science from UNC Chapel Hill in 2016.  

I am running for the Board of Education because I believe I can make a difference in my community.  

One thing that I learned while studying abroad in England  last year as part of my Master's degree is that, while we say that you "run for office", they say that you "stand" for something.  I identify with that wording, because I will stand up for the needs of our schools and make sure that Education is always our top priority.

Throughout my life, I have volunteered for a variety of organizations in our community.  I have also fundraised for a variety of charities including the American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, and of course, school and club fundraisers.  Although many, but not all, of these organizations are listed on my resumé below, I would like to elaborate on my experiences which are most relevant to this position.  

As a volunteer for Teen Court in middle and high school, I helped many of my fellow students who had gotten in trouble to move forward with a better outlook.  Through the Girl Scouts, between earning my Silver Award for organizing an educational event for 4th and 5th grade girls, and earning multiple community service bars (representing 25 hours each), I also volunteered for Santa's Helpers, which helps to bring Christmas to local families in need.  With the National Honor Society in high school, I volunteered as a tutor for our elementary school students.  I have also worked as a tutor at PCC and as a summer program organizer for the Girl Scouts.  At PCC, as a member of Phi Theta Kappa, an academic honor society, I helped to plan and staff events and programs on campus.  I have tutored in Person County on all levels (elementary, middle, high school, and college), and have seen a few areas in which our students need more support.

The key issue in my campaign is budget allocation.  In addition to a variety of volunteering and event planning, I also have experience in serving on budgeting committees, having been a United Way Community Investment Team member in 2014, which determined the allocation of funds for the year.  I was invited back in 2015, but could not attend as I was abroad at the time; however, I look forward to serving on the committee again in the future.

Additional examples of my service to our community are listed in the resumé section below.