I
was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1988. The same hospital where I
was delivered was the same that delivered my mother. The same year in
Little Rock, Bill Clinton was halfway through his third term as Governor
of Arkansas. This also meant that Hillary Clinton was serving her third
term as the First Lady of Arkansas.
By
the time I was born, the First Lady had already devoted 14 years of her
life to the betterment of Arkansas. In the time between her arrival to
Arkansas and mine, she had bolstered the quality of Arkansas'
infrastructure for supporting children and families. I won't go into
every detail because quite frankly the list is exhaustive and other
writers have done a better job telling her story. I will however speak about how her initiatives in education benefited myself and countless other Arkansas children.
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via // Politico |
When
I began kindergarten in 1992, the Clintons were on the verge of leaving
Arkansas as Bill would soon be elected POTUS. Several years before I
started school, the Arkansas school system was a relative laughing
stock. A majority of the school districts did not offer chemistry or art
classes. Likewise many school districts had little to no testing
requirements for teacher qualification. In 1983 the First Lady was
appointed chair of the Arkansas Education Standards Committee.
Thanks to our former First Lady, I was entitled to a quality education before I even began classes. Depending on the timing or the ranking criteria, Arkansas has at one time been fifth in the nation in regards to education (and at times as low as 45th). Regardless of the metric, I know I received an education that prepared me for college and subsequently graduate school (both of which, I attended in Arkansas). I know it was an arduous process that was often met with opposition but Hillary Clinton continually worked hard to improve my life before my life even began. In a very real way, Hillary Clinton helped lay the groundwork that led to me receiving my PhD.
I
was far too young to comprehend what she had done for me before she
left Arkansas. Because of that, I didn't have the chance to thank her in
person for placing the needs of Arkansas children as her top priority.
Though it will be long overdue, I won't miss my chance to thank her this
November when I cast my vote.
I did not know any of this about her. Good post.
ReplyDeleteAs a graduate of Arkansas public schools (and law school) and former lawyer for Arkansas DCFS, I'm pretty sure the only place I haven't been directly impacted by Hillary is when I was in the womb.
ReplyDeleteEven then, I'm sure she had something to do with prenatal care, so we'll just say me and Hillary have been BFF since I was in the gut.
Love this. And ditto.