Being in politics is hard, being a woman is politics is harder. We see examples of it every
day, take the last presidential election for example. Donald Trump was referred to by primarily
his last name, whereas Kamala Harris was almost only ever referred to by her first. The
normalized disrespect towards women in American politics is a cultural nightmare that has been
going on as long as women have been involved.
I had a conversation with Mrs. Melinda Rogers, a member of the Virginia Beach school
board since 2025. I wanted to know about her experience as a woman, especially beginning in
today’s political environment.
My first questions were about how she became interested in running for office, and her
experiences campaigning. She told me she had been working as an educator for almost ten
years, and then went into observations for the Department of Education.
“After doing that, someone approached me and said, ‘Why don’t you run for school
board?’, and I said, ‘All right!’”.
Her main focuses within her campaign and within her role as a school board member are
“To listen to the educators’ voices, and to understand the struggles that they’re having, and then
to help guide the division to make necessary changes”.
She said “I really do understand some of the struggles that they are facing. I still see myself as an educator and so I really do think a
happy educator is one who has their needs met and can meet their students’ needs as well, you
know?”.
I then asked her about the advantages and disadvantages she’s faced as a woman. She
described that some areas of politics can feel like a “boy’s club”, and that “people assume that
because you’re a woman, that you are unable to have the influence or the intelligence to hold
this space.”
She then explained to me that being underestimated can have its advantages,
though. She told me about how she’s found so much encouragement through other educators
and friends that it’s a reminder to keep going. “ I need to continue to be the voice that they don’t
feel they can be.”
One of my last questions was probably the one I was the most eager to ask, “What
advice would you give to other young women interested in going into politics?”. “You can not ler
anyone else’s perception of you change the way you feel about yourself. It is incredibly difficult
to stand in a space where people in this political climate are using their words and their
influence to try and tear you down or make you feel differently about yourself.” She also
emphasized the importance of how important a strong support system is to succeed in anything,
especially within such a public position.
My final question was about her plans for the future, did she intend to stay in politics.
She intends to run for school board again, and continue to help educators succeed. She very
openly told me campaigning was “not her favorite”, so she’s not sure if she would run for a state
or federal role.
My conversation with Mrs. Rogers really inspired me to continue pushing towards a role
in politics, and I was truly inspired by her passion and incentive. She is a great example of a
woman in the political world, hard-working, intelligent, and driven.