Guest Author: Aria Spears, United WE Volunteer
During my junior year of college in Springfield, MO, I really had no interest in civic engagement or politics. I had become interested in engaging in the community beyond campus, but mostly at a vegan club, center for people in poverty and business events. That’s why it was impossible at the time to see just how important my decision to attend a United WE Appointments Project® overview would become.
Like many women, I had no desire at the time to serve on a board, commission or run for office. I didn’t know what it meant to serve in any of these roles. As a child of ex-pats living abroad, I cared about international issues from an international development perspective. But I had very little experience in what it meant to be civically engaged in my home state. One day, an entrepreneurship group I frequented advertised the United WE Appointments Project® program session to learn more about it. Unsure of what to expect but intrigued, I quickly registered.
One word encapsulates my experience: accessible. Upon absorbing the overview, I remember feeling like an appointment to a board or commission was actually possible. When I came in, I knew boards made decisions. I just hadn’t realized how much they influence the day-to-day workings (and budgets!) of a community. Suddenly, I could visualize myself serving in some kind of civic leadership role. That had never happened before.
The spark glowed and then grew. My fascination with community involvement continued through graduation and into my early professional life. I secured a graduate assistant position at a nearby university to study Nonprofit & Civic Leadership, in hopes of learning more about how to affect community-wide change. During this time, a few friends and I noticed we couldn’t find a consistent place for conversation among people of diverse perspectives in our city. We created a monthly networking group to fill this gap, hosting conversations about mental health, stories and more downtown on Saturday nights for one year. Though not directly civic engagement, it showed me the power of convening diverse perspectives. It showed me I could create something meaningful with a few friends about a cause we cared about.
Fast forward. I married into active duty Army life and we moved to rural Missouri, which was far beyond my comfort zone. I would often joke with my spouse about becoming the mayor of a city. I even took him on the historic walking trail of our town our first week there.
A few months after we arrived, I discovered a local civic leadership program and quickly I applied. With only one year left at this location, I wouldn’t be rooted long enough to become mayor or a board member for a long period of time, but I thought I could learn as much as possible about how cities run.
After being accepted, I paid my tuition and started the monthly program in the Fall of 2021. I was the only military spouse paying my own way in the program; the rest were referred by their local employers. Every month,the other professionals and I would tour various industries in the area for an entire day. Throughout this program, I learned about economic development, state politics, tourism, healthcare, military-civilian affairs, local government and more, with first-hand experiences with leaders around the county. I saw firsthand the concrete change past mayors, volunteers and city officials implemented through bringing grants for parks, economic development for jobs and more to the region. I was voted Vice President of our class and helped to present the awards at the graduation in 2022.
Throughout this time, I realized the joke about becoming a mayor and running for office had somewhere along the way turned into an actual goal. In between civic leadership program sessions, I read the books by local mayors and researched local history. At community events, I made a point to meet as many current and past mayors in this area as I could. Before I knew it, I realized this wasn’t a joke at all, but something I really wanted to do.
It became not a matter of if, but a matter of when.
That night learning about United WE’s Appointments Project® lit the spark, which continues to grow with time. That overview helped me see that serving on a board or commission is a worthy goal, and that regular women like myself can indeed bring something to the table. It continually inspires me to propose the idea to women in my network, as I see in them the potential to fill these roles with excellence.
My story is just beginning. I have a long road ahead in terms of becoming a civic leader as we continue to move with the military. But no matter how long it takes, I know that serving on a board or commission, and eventually running for office is indeed possible—even for me.