issue, it was an eastern Wake County issue. Now, I’m able to extend those relationships and partnerships and continue to work on things like health and wellness, education. Those are the things that I’m passionate about. We have a community college that is being built right here in our backyard. It’s not just going to serve Wendell, but it’s going to serve parts of northeast Raleigh, Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon, and Rolesville. And so in my experience as a retired administrator from the community college, I’ve seen the benefits of having this type of resource in your backyard and being able to connect the dots. But it’s all about collaboration and partnership. So, I’m able to take what I’ve learned from local government and expand on it, and now look at introducing legislation that could better support my community. There’s an education savings plan, which we have in the queue, it’s a bill that would support folks from underserved communities. And the way this bill is written, for those that are born in poverty, the state will invest in this savings account. By the time they’re 18 years old and they decide to go to community college or a four-year institution, their education is paid for. Now, some folks may ask the question: What if they decide not to go to college? Well, it’s a win-win situation, because all of that interest that has accrued over that time, that money goes back to the state. When you help realize these opportunities for these folks who do not otherwise have the opportunity to further their education, now they can become business owners, they can go from $8 an hour to $30–40 an hour, realize the American Dream, really of having a family, providing for their kids, purchasing goods and services, starting their own businesses, and now they’re giving back to the local economy. This is sitting right here in all of our backyards. It’s investing in people. It’s investing in education. And if you connect the dots, the communities come out ahead, the state comes out ahead, and now you have a robust community that is appealing to those who wish to migrate from up north, south, east, west. When they come and they see these things like the arts … they see this wonderful state surrounded by institutions of higher ed, and they see their state legislators supporting these efforts and being creative in supporting these efforts and supporting the citizens, it would be an appealing place for me to want to live, work, and play. Was there a leadership example in your background? What brought you to public service? JR: You know, I get that question a lot. And when I speak to young folk, I have to go back to my childhood. It started with my mom—I just lost my mom a few weeks ago. The wonderful thing is I know she’s smiling down on me, she’s proud of me. My mom has always been a big proponent of education. And so, coming from a single-parent home, she wanted to make sure that all of her kids had the resources, the necessary tools, the critical thinking skills to pursue their education and to do much better than what she did, much better than what my father did. And so, I remember being around five years old and getting up on early Saturday mornings, going out with her, getting folks registered to vote… And for us, we only had three networks back then— CBS, NBC, and ABC—and she was a big fan of Walter Cronkite. So, every four years, we had to sit in front of the television and watch the returns, and she would educate us on how important it is to vote. So, I think that’s where it started. But when I decided to go off to college, undergrad at Shaw University, I saw how involved Shaw University was with voting and commitment to community. And so those things just led to where I am now. And of course, my experience as an administrator at Wake Tech, being able to help realize opportunities for—well, for a lot of these kids, it’s their last opportunity. And I’m so thankful I was in an area that really contributed to student successes. So, I’m able to go out as a legislator now and talk about how we’ve been able to help folks realize the American Dream. Legislator Q&A: Connecting the Dots continues on page 16 Rep. Roberson at Knightdale's Harper Park. Photo credit: Ben Brown NCLM.ORG 15
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