Charlotte Rice is a busy student at Meridian. She plays on the girl’s tennis team and leads the Entrepreneurs’ Club alongside fellow seniors Ellie Friesen and Elbetel Kiros. But when she isn’t participating in school activities, Rice is the student representative for the FCCPS school board.
Rice was introduced to the position through recent Meridian alum Sean Lewin, who served as the representative for the 2023-24 school year. She decided to apply for the position after hearing about his positive experience.
“It’s really interesting, and I have gotten to learn about the behind-the-scenes work that happens. [The board] only meets twice a month, but the meetings are like three to four hours,” she explained.
Her job consists of making sure that student opinions are heard, discussing details about student life, and keeping the board updated about what is happening at Meridian.
Rice attends the regular meeting in the town hall on the second Tuesday of every month, as well as the work sessions on the fourth Tuesday of each month, which occur at the FCCPS central office.
“I am very aware that I am a student representative and not a board member, so there isn’t much I can do. I do feel that they value my voice and opinion as well as those of the community,” she said.
Becoming the student representative was a fairly simple process in terms of application, but there was a learning curve. However, the position has taught Rice responsibility and introduced her to the workforce.
“I think the biggest thing for me is that it is a learning process, and I want to take advantage of my time there and learn as much as I can,” she explained.
As the end of the year creeps closer, a new representative will be picked soon. Rice greatly appreciated the help from Sean Lewin, so she has helped applicants for the 2025-26 school year.
As she moves on to college, her experiences in high school have inspired her to pursue a pre-med major at UVA. Although she’s not sure what she wants to focus on specifically, she has aspirations toward pediatric surgery.
“Over the summer I was shadowing at a hospital and got to watch some surgeries. The doctors saving children’s lives were really inspiring,” she said.
In the summer, she also participated in an internship through Leadership Initiatives, a program that offers internships surrounding law, business, neuroscience, national security, and medicine. Their goal is to educate students about public health issues.
She also thinks that her experience on the school board would help her in medicine.
“In medicine and especially in hospitals, there’s such a strict hierarchy in terms of jobs and roles. One day, if I am ever someone’s boss, I can remember how the board valued my voice…and can hopefully mirror that attitude with whoever works for me,” she explained.
Rice is very excited about beginning her new chapter after graduation, and looks forward to the opportunities that await after high school.
