Courtesy | Sam Widmer
Hillsdale alumna Samantha Widmer ’21 was elected to the board of education in her hometown of Gibsonburg, Ohio, on Nov. 2, becoming the youngest member of the Gibsonburg school board.
Widmer said she considered running for office soon after accepting a full-time job in her hometown.
“When I found out that I was coming back to Gibsonburg after graduation, I knew that I wanted to be an active member of society a little more than I had been growing up,” Widmer said. “I began throwing around the idea of running in April, and by July, I had turned in my position.”
Widmer’s sister Emma, a current sophomore at Hillsdale, said she was not surprised at all when Widmer decided to run.
“Anybody who knows Sam knows that when she has an opinion, she is going to get it done,” she said. “I knew she wanted to get involved in the community more than just working there and I knew that she was passionate about education.”
When she is sworn into office in January, Widmer will become the youngest member of the Gibsonburg school board by 20 years. Gibsonburg is about 30 miles southeast of Toledo, Ohio. It has a population of about 2,500.
Widmer said she hopes she can bring “young blood” to the board.
“A lot of parents actually told me that they were really interested in my perspective because I just finished college,” Widmer said. “They were excited to hear my perspective on their kids and education in Gibsonburg.”
Widmer added that her Hillsdale education has prepared her for the challenges of serving on a school board.
“I was taught how to communicate with others in a way I don’t think most college students are,” Widmer said. “Academic writing was never my strong suit, but leaving Hillsdale I realized what I did learn has prepared me to walk into school board meetings and write policy, procedures, handbooks — all of those sorts of things.”
Associate Professor of Economics Michael Clark had high praise for his former student.
“Sam was a solid and engaged Hillsdale College student, but she was not the ‘all As’ or ‘it comes easy to me’ student” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, she was a very good student with solid grades, but she was one that worked for what she got. She cared more about knowledge gained than grades earned.”
Widmer’s campaign focused on reengaging the Gibsonburg community with education. She said the lack of rigor she felt in high school inspired her to run.
“I was very involved in high school, but I did not feel that Gibsonburg prepared me for what I wanted to do after graduation,” Widmer said.
After speaking with classmates, even those who didn’t matriculate into four-year colleges, Widmer found that many of them felt the same way.
“Only about 35% of my graduating class went to college,” Widmer said. “Most of my district goes into agriculture or the military or trade school. And they all felt unprepared for what they learned in high school. So it wasn’t just me who was trying to go to a school like Hillsdale that wasn’t prepared.”
According to Widmer, Gibsonburg High School offers no Advanced Placement classes and only two honors classes — Spanish and English.
“If you wanted any sort of rigor at all, you had to go to a college nearby which really changes the culture of the school,” Emma said. “All of the upperclassmen who are supposed to be the leaders of the school are leaving to go elsewhere.”
By increasing communication between parents, teachers and students, Widmer said, she hopes to implement policies that increase academic rigor and prepare students for their futures.
“I want people to engage. Not only student-wise but teacher-wise,” Widmer said. “I want the community and parents to feel more active and engaged from elementary school to highschool.”
Because of Gibsonberg’s small size, Widmer said the campaign process was very casual. She spent most of her time attending football games and other events at Gibsonburg High School, responding to questions on social media, and meeting with people door-to-door.
“A lot of it was very personal,” Widmer said. “I knocked on a lot of doors to hand out my fliers and it was fun because people who I haven’t spoken to in years would recognize me and say things like, ‘hey you used to work at the grocery store downtown.’”
Widmer also organized a formal meet-and-greet with other candidates.
“She was planning her meet-and greet pretty far out in advance and that’s not something the school board had ever done before,” Emma said. “It was kind of a shock for them in a good way; it kept them on their toes.”
According to Widmer, Gibsonburg was more involved in this year’s school board election due to concerns about critical race theory and COVID-19 policies. While she said that she is glad these hot-button issues sparked public interest, she wants to focus on the more ordinary aspects of education during her time on the Gibsonburg school board.
“There is so much more to running a district than just COVID-19 policy,” Widmer said. “I really wish that I had gotten more questions regarding the curriculum and our graduation rates, where our students are ending up, and how students feel about the district post graduation.”
Widmer says she would encourage everyone to get involved with local politics.
“You don’t have to run and be elected to be an active and influential part of local government. I think that’s what people forget,” she said. “It is so much more than the people who get elected. It’s attending meetings and voicing opinions.”