By Jonathan Morales

2021年12月1日

安·爱德华兹（Ann Edwards）过去常常晚上躺在床上睡不着，想象自己走过博彩平台（萨克拉门托 State）的毕业典礼舞台。

“I even had ‘Pomp and Circumstance,’ the tune, in my head,” said Edwards ’91 (Social Work), MS ’93 (Counseling), who at the time was a single mother working in customer service at FedEx. “I mean, I really just visualized it happening, and I didn’t do it thinking it was going to get me there. It’s just how badly I wanted the education.

“It’s almost like I was, without knowing it, doing an affirmation about getting where I wanted to be.”

She eventually got there, enrolling at 囊状态, switching to part-time work, and bringing her daughter to classes when she couldn’t arrange child care.

Four years later, her nighttime affirmation became a reality when she walked across the Commencement stage to receive her bachelor’s degree.

爱德华兹现在是萨克拉门托县的县长，是第一位担任该职位的女性，负责监督所有部门和业务。 她说，她在博彩平台学到了许多帮助她取得成功的技能。

她选择萨克州立大学有三个原因：离家近，因此对兼职的单身母亲来说很方便； it was a “teaching school,” where she knew she would get individualized attention from professors; 她的父亲是教员，给校园增添了一种熟悉的气氛。

爱德华兹最初注册的专业是传播学，但当她的妹妹进入戒毒所治疗酗酒时，支持这个家庭的社会工作者让她转了学。

“It just inspired me to help people that were struggling as well,” she said.

After graduating with her bachelor’s in Social Work, she returned to the University to earn her master’s degree in Counseling. 她也是一名有执照的婚姻和家庭治疗师。

爱德华兹负责萨克拉门托县的所有工作人员和业务，该县拥有150万人口。 她说，Sac州立大学教会了她批判性思维技能，她每天都在使用这些技能来代表她的工作。 她也很感激老师们教她所有的课，如果她需要带女儿去上课，老师们很灵活，也很理解她。

Studying social work and counseling, she added, gave her a “tremendous understanding about human behavior.

“I use my skills all the time, helping staff do a better job, coaching staff, and leading the organization,” Edwards said. “I feel like the both of those degrees helped me enormously in dealing with people, both inside the county and outside the county.”

她说，她最大的工作是制定和提交年度预算。

萨克拉门托县本身是独特的，从萨克拉门托河横跨到塞拉山麓，大约三分之一的居民居住在萨克拉门托或兰乔科尔多瓦等合并城市之外。 这意味着该县是50万人口的地方政府。

Acknowledging that, Edwards said one of her primary goals is “to lead with care and compassion.”

“Yes, I oversee departments and agencies and build the budget, but I really think the core of my responsibility is to serve the community and the employees of 萨克拉门托 County so that interactions with each other and with the community are positive and constructive and beneficial,” she said.

Having grown up and still residing in 萨克拉门托 County’s Carmichael neighborhood, Edwards is part of that community.

“The County of 萨克拉门托 picks up my garbage. When people complain about potholes, I drive over the same roads that have the same potholes,” she said. “So I understand what residents of unincorporated county are experiencing.”

Public service, Edwards said, is “in my bones.” 她的父亲是萨克州立大学的教员，她的母亲在圣胡安联合学区教小学。 Her father once told her, “Whatever you do, do something that matters.” 她的第一份工作是在圣华金县的一个社区组织工作。

“Great training, great job, but it didn’t feel right being in another community,” said Edwards, who took the first opportunity to return to her hometown. 在2020年12月成为代理县长并于9月被任命为永久职位之前，她在萨克拉门托县的多个部门工作了20多年。

家庭的支持，包括父母的支持，对她实现大学学位的梦想至关重要。 And when she walked across the stage to receive her master’s, it came with an added special touch: Her father, as the chair of Teacher Education, conferred her degree at Commencement while her daughter looked on.

“That was an incredibly special moment, and my daughter was there to see me walk both times, which was really incredible as well,” Edwards said.