NCSSM prepares its students for far more than careers as scientists and mathematicians. The school’s broad and intensive curriculum provides graduates with an academic foundation so sound that they are well-positioned to follow wherever their passions may lead them. 

For a number of NCSSM’s alumni, those passions have led them to seek a life of public service as elected officials where they might have the chance to shape our world through policy-making. It’s a noble undertaking, despite the current state of public discourse. Like most worthy endeavors, it’s also a tough line of work. Successes and failures play out before the public, with praise and criticism always in steady supply.

NCSSM is proud of the role it has played in helping educate graduates who seek to represent their greater community, particularly when it comes to the leadership qualities the school works hard to instill in its students. 

“The whole intellectual approach of the school encourages students to think for themselves,” says Kyle Hudson, Instructor of Humanities at NCSSM. “It’s a habit of mind that our students develop across the curriculum that we try to cultivate, including not just formulating your own views, but listening in a real way to the views of others and incorporating them into your thinking. That’s an important skill for democracy, and I can see how for some people that would certainly translate into an interest in leadership positions. Students here are very interested in what’s going on in the world.”

In recognition of those Unicorns aspiring to lead, the school has assembled this list of graduates known to be seeking election or reelection to public office:

• Jessica Frega ’02 — serves on Orange County (NC) Board of Health
• Toby Hampson ’94 — serves on the NC Court of Appeals  
• Tarsha Ellis ’91 — running for NC Senate, District 33
• Amy Fowler ’86 — running for Orange County (NC) Commissioner
• Natalie Beyer ’86  — serves on Durham County (NC) School Board
• Anna Morrison Goodwin ’98 — running for District Court Judge in Union County (NC)
• Bill Davis ’91 — running unopposed for re-election as District Court Judge in Guilford County (NC)
• Ralph Hise ’94 — NC Senate, running for re-election
• Donna Shumate ’86 — running for District Court Judge in Ashe/Alleghany/Wilkes/Yadkin (NC)
• Erica Smith ’88 — NC Senate, running for US Senate
• Jenna Wadsworth ’07 — Wake County (NC) Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, running for NC Commissioner of Agriculture