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DOWAGIAC — Dowagiac Union Schools’ Feb. 16 Board of Education meeting will be the first of many for newly-appointed trustee Christina Carpenter.

After years of representing the district as an athlete, employee and coach, the Dowagiac alumna will now serve her community as a member of the Board of Education.

“I’m excited and eager to step in and be able to help make a difference for the community and our district,” she said. “The kids in our community deserve the best and I want them to have beyond what I had when I went to school. I think the board we currently have is great. I do feel I can make the community proud by stepping in when I’m needed.”

On Monday, after interviewing several applicants, the DUS Board of Education selected Carpenter to fill the vacant seat left behind by former board president Ronda Sullivan, who passed away in early January after a hard-fought battle with cancer. 

Since being appointed by the school board, Carpenter was overwhelmed with the support she has received from friends, family and community members.

“It makes me so proud,” she said. “We are united. My daughter texted me from college and said ‘mom, you’re all over social media’. The text messages, calls and Facebook posts kept coming. I’m so thankful and blessed to be a member of the community and to know that they support me and the team we’re gonna represent on the board. They trust in me and believe in me and that makes me more eager to start going.” 

A graduate of Dowagiac Union High School and current office manager at Seven Generations A&E, Carpenter’s roots are firmly rooted in a community that has given much to her over the years.

“My parents chose to raise me here and we chose to raise my kids here,” she said. “It’s comforting knowing that we as a community are a family. We are united; we’ve had a little setback but we will bring it back together. I’m so proud to be a part of this community and I believe I’ll make us proud.”