Judging by her Opening Night buildup and response, the other four members of the School Board probably don’t pack as much emotional concentration into a meeting as Prof. Kelly Kent does, at least with her first one.
Hours after the short meeting – that drew an SRO crowd — ended, she still was scaling down from her high.
“I wish I could say it was super exciting,” Dr. Kent said. “But it was relatively routine. I was way more nervous than I expected to be,” and she blushed.
“I felt like I already had been through all of the fire and brimstone there could be.
“For some reason, Tuesday night made me very nervous.”
Except for an early dramatic interlude, when Dr. Kent and Anne Burke, her fellow winner in last month’s election, were sworn in as members of the School Board and posed for family pictures, “it wasn’t super exciting.”
The two new members assumed the same stance as they shook off freshman jitters during the two-hour evening.
“I know that both Anne and I are trying to tread lightly, be humble and learn,” said Dr. Kent.
How did she feel after the meeting?
As her friends and supporters know by now, Dr. Kent lives.
She does not lean back and passively observe life.
How did she feel after her first School Board meeting?
“I was very excited,” she said. “I definitely came home and had champagne.”
