It also smelled like fresh dirt - because they had already begun to clear an area to build the new Procter R. Hug High School. This was the groundbreaking celebration for that project, and I remember it like it was yesterday for a couple reasons.

First of all, the kids were sooooo excited! They were just beaming! There were huge smiles, laughter, and you could tell that they had that special joy that you get when something you never really believed would come to pass actually happens.

I was really excited, too, because I am a proud graduate of Hug. To be a part of giving this incredible gift back to that community is just amazing. See, I was at Hug when McQueen was opening, and it felt like all the middle-class kids got to go to the new school while all the poor kids got left behind in old Hug High School. That was not a good feeling. But the feeling with these current Hug students was completely different! I moved to that area of town in the eighth grade. We lived in the neighborhood around Pat Baker Park. I'm not sure many other people felt this way, but moving from where we lived in the projects in San Francisco to here sorta felt like the Jeffersons; we were moving on up! We rented a house and had a yard. Don't get me wrong- we were still poor, but at least this was an improvement.

But the consistent message in our community was that college was the key to making something of yourself. So, I went to Nevada. I was first in my family to go straight through, earn a degree, and I eventually went on to earn a doctorate. That changed my life, got me away from being poor, and gave me a great career at the University. And now I own a small business and am blessed to do well. Not only that, but my journey inspired my mom to go to college and earn her degree at the age of 50 - and that inspired my sister to go back and finish her education. Now we have a legacy of college graduation in my family. So, it also changed my family.

The power of education was what originally inspired me to get on the school board. Since being on the Board, I've learned that there are actually a lot of pathways to good paying jobs, and many don't require a college degree. And I'm very proud to support the growth of those programs as more avenues to the middle class for our students.

Back to that day of the groundbreaking for the new Hug High School. It was so meaningful because it demonstrates the improvements that we've made in education over the past seven years that I've been on the board. We kept our promises with that WC-1 money. We've added career education programs, enhanced the social and emotional learning curriculum, raised graduation rates, and so much more. Of course, there's still a lot of work to be done. But for me, with that new Hug opening this fall, a new superintendent coming next year, and an opening at the state legislature, I feel like this is a good time to take what I've learned on the school board and continue to help improve our schools from a new position. In addition to focusing on helping families that grew up like I did, I bring the perspective of a business owner, which would add value to the Legislature.