Parker Holt is a senior at Tunstall High School and is now Tunstall’s School Board Representative. Holt participates in a variety of school clubs such as Beta, FBLA, Spanish, and Interact President. She is very involved in community service and has been devoted to helping the community. 

She was inducted as the new school board representative in July 2021 in Chatham, VA. Holt plans to have a “civic based career,” so she wanted the ability to expand her knowledge with qualities at the local level that will help her further in her future career. 

Just like many other events in 2022, the School Board meetings have Covid-19 restrictions, too.

“A lot of the meetings have been extended due to parental concerns for Covid-19. The first meeting I went to lasted from 7 to 10 p.m.,” Parker Holt said.

Often, many wonder what the role of a school board representative actually consists of and it is more than what many think. As a school board representative, Holt does not have to vote on any topics.

All of the school board representatives are able to sit alongside other school board members and give an opinion on the topic that needs to be discussed. Each month one school board representative is given a character word that they have to write a speech on to present to the audience.

“My last word was “courtesy,” so I wrote a speech on that and presented it to the school board,” Holt said.

Occasionally, private meetings will be held where the school board representatives can talk outside of the school board meeting. At these meetings, they discuss differe

nt topics that the superintendent wants to discuss. Sometimes these are held over a Zoom meeting, but they typically have them in person. 

Holt has enjoyed meeting and connecting with her fellow school board representatives at other schools. She feels that attending meetings and hearing others opinions has opened her eyes to many different issues.

“It has been so fun to meet these students and see how their school has similar or different issues than ours,” Holt said. 

On days when Holt is not at a school board meeting,

 she dances at Meredith Gravely School of Dance. Holt enjoys cooking and baking different types of food in her free time. She also loves spending time with her friends and family.

Holt left with one piece of advice to all THS students: “Be appreciative of your school board members! They have a very hard job and work so hard for us,” Holt said.