Bellevue College’s own Krischanna Roberson, the director of the health sciences & wellness department as well as the Black Student Union adviser, was elected onto the Bellevue School Board to represent the 4th District.
Technically, votes are being counted until Nov. 23, but the lead Roberson has is so large, it’s apparent that she has already won.
The current representative for the 4th District is retiring, so Roberson saw it as the “next step” in her life to run for the position. Roberson will be covering the Eastside and Lake Hills portion of Bellevue. Her main roles will be to make sure policy is working and that funds are managed well. In addition, she’ll be engaging with the community and visiting schools throughout the district.
Michelle Clark, one of the individuals who helped Roberson out during the campaign, said that she was so taken by Roberson’s passion that it inspired her to attend her first campaign event. Clark attended two “criticism sessions” in order to further prepare her for forums and an interview with The Seattle Times.
“I think the most important thing I did to help her during the election was provide moral support. I attended a few candidate forums so she would have a friendly face in the audience and was a sounding board if and when she needed me,” said Clark.
With her newly formed connection on the school board, Clark believes that Roberson will be able to positively impact the future of BC with her new position.
“With this new knowledge and vantage point, she will have a broader and deeper understanding of how ‘college ready’ students are when they graduate high school and enter college. I think she will be able to use this information to help current and future BC students achieve their academic goals,” said Clark.
Roberson described her and her team during the campaign process as the “spaghetti and meatball sauce. All of us were just trying to figure out which way to go.” According to Roberson, the campaign process for running for a position on school board is just like running for mayor or any other authoritative position.
“We had to go out and do fundraising, reach out to community members, and luckily I already had such a great rapport with the community that a lot of that was already done. A lot of that helps with the signage, which was really expensive,” said Roberson.
Roberson was sponsored and endorsed by The Seattle Times, Bellevue School District Association and even Ross Hunter, a state legislative representative.
Over the past 10 years of varied community and volunteer work, Roberson said she figured out “what she wanted to be when she grew up.”
“I have an education in business management and finance and can use that in education. It not only makes me happy, I have such a passion for it as well, and recognized that it was my purpose. Now that I’m at the level where I can start implementing policy, it only seemed like the next thing for me to do,” said Roberson.
To Roberson, the best part about campaigning was when she was able to interact with students, who would create questions for her and she would have to answer them accordingly. One student asked if she was the first African-American, which she is, to run for the position, and it impressed her that the kids were able to pick up on things like that.
Looking back at the campaign process, Roberson said, “I wish I could go back and get high school kids to vote. The students, the ones that are 18 and up, but who aren’t thinking about all that stuff. I would have designated days at lunch where I could sit down with them and tell them, ‘Hey, this is why this stuff is important,’ and just get them to vote,” said Roberson.
Darryl Fisher, who helped Roberson with her website, putting up signs and fundraising, knows that Roberson is the right person for the position.
“I’ve worked with her during the youth programs. She was instrumental in setting everything up. This woman is one of the most organized and focused person[s] I’ve ever worked with. She just locks in. There are very few people who work for the benefit of others. She’s just always there, she’s that kind of person. She has a good heart and I just really appreciate the work she has done in the past and I know the city of Bellevue will appreciate her as well,” said Fisher.