You’ve probably heard by now that we’re hunting down 51 great delegates for the Mom Congress on Education and Learning conference in 2012. This week I’ve asked our previous delegates to tell me their top reasons for entering the contest to become a state delegate for Mom Congress.

I applied for Mom Congress because I am so passionate about helping our education system grow.  I wanted an opportunity to spend time being inspired by other moms like me and also learning more ways I can help our education system.  ~Lisa Falduto, 2011 Wisconsin Delegate

Are you a budding advocate or someone who has such a passion for children it seems to radiate from you and all you do? Then enter to represent your state as the 2012 Mom Congress Delegate and join other passionate mom's dedicated to make a difference for the future!

Being the 2010 Utah Mom Congress Delegate has enriched my life, connected me with fabulous and talented women from across our great nation and has propelled me into even more efficient and effective ways of advocating for the great children of Utah as well as opened doors of support for and from many states in the US. Together as a focused and united group we can accomplish anything we set our minds to! I continue to be blessed from this honor! ~Lori Harding – 2010 Utah Delegate

In the two years that I have been a delegate for Mom Congress, I have had the opportunity to create lifelong connections and friendships with incredibly talented and passionate women who "get" me. I have sat in on an ESEA hearing, met with staff from the United States Department of Education, been invited to be a guest blogger on a nationally recognized website Parent Involvement Matters, met leaders from the ASCD, First Focus, Center for Science in the Public Interest, America's Promise, Save our Children, the NEA, and others. I am continually inspired by the work my fellow delegates are doing and continually supported for the work I do. If you are thinking "why Mom Congress?" think about how you can be with 150 other strong leaders who speak your language, who understand your drive and determination, who don't feel intimidated by it, who want you to take on the world and will walk with you every step of the way. It's more than a magazine contest, it's a movement. And it's time is now. ~Myrdin Thompson - 2010 Kentucky Delegate

The opportunity to network with advocates from across the nation. The training opportunities. The wining and dining was really nice too, as were the rooms! ~Darlene Shue – 2011 Texas Delegate

You’ll make your cause more visible! ~Amie Hamlin – 2010 New York Delegate

Nothing says empowering like a group of women with a common goal.  I made so many new friends that have given me the courage and the motivation to expect more from everyone involved in education. 

My number one take away would definitely be the fact that I was left with the desire to improve parent/teacher involvement, I know it can and will happen if we just put the right plans into motion.  Those plans have been introduced to me from the day I arrived at Mom Congress all the way up until the present moment.  Together we can accomplish anything. ~Jerri Ann Reason – 2011 Alabama Delegate

Top Reasons to Become a State Delegate for Mom Congress:

1. Have your voice be heard by those who influence policy decisions, including Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education.

2. Network with other moms who are passionate about children and education from across the United States. Form friendships and build relationships that you can pull on once back home.

3. Learn even more about important issues in education today and how you can help to improve our education system and individual schools as well.

4. Represent the children and parents in your state--share what is working well that other states might be able to try and express what is not working so well and get recommendations that you can take back and share/implement.

5. Become an integral part of a growing movement that will vastly change our nation's education system for the better. ~Jennifer Lavender-Schott – 2011 Michigan Delegate

As a former MC delegate, I have to say that one of the best things that can come from being a delegate is knowing (and meeting) other women that are as passionate about education and children, as you are!  The thought of 51 advocates in one place talking together and learning from each other is a powerful image that can only be experienced if you apply to attend!  The friendships I have formed and the contacts I have made have proven valuable in every sense of the word and for that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend.  So, send in your application, take the chance and you could very possibly be the next mom to represent your state and find out that there are moms around the country just like you!  ~Jen DeFranco – 2010 Illinois Delegate 

Mom Congress is as much about what you learn as it is about what you contribute.  If you are doing something in your community, in your school, to make a difference it may seem small to you but it may be the key to unlocking an issue for another Mom in another state.  I urge every involved and concerned Mom to enter to be a Mom Congress delegate. ~Laura Taylor – 2010 California Delegate

Ten succinct reasons to become your state's delegate for Mom Congress are to:

T              Take advantage of opportunities to find out what others are doing to help their state’s schools and communities;

E              Evaluate, elevate, and help ensure the effeciency and proficiency of your state’s schools;

N             Nurture your ideas to help enhance better student/parent/teacher relationships;

R             Raise parental awareness;

E              Enlightened children/youths, parents, and all stakeholders of other existing educational programs;

A             Aspire other parents to get involved with their children’s education by partnering with their local schools;

S              Secure vital information conducive to students and parents seeking a better educational environment;

O             Operate in valor and value by becoming an advocate for better schools; and

N             Navigate and promote early literacy and higher education.

S              Support from other Supermoms!

~O. Pearl Andrews – 2010 Tennessee Delegate

Mom Congress was such an awesome experience for me!  I loved meeting moms from all over the country, sharing their passion for improving schools, and hearing their stories of advocacy and success.  It was incredibly informative and inspiring!  I brought home a wealth of knowledge and feel empowered to continue working with school staff, district administrators, and city officials towards the goal of great public education for all of our kids.  I continue to connect with, draw from, and share with these fantastic women.  I can hardly wait to meet the next class! ~Ami Boehlje – 2011 Missouri Delegate

Here are my top 4 reasons for entering MC:
 
1.  Mom Congress validates all of your hard work!
2.  You meet AMAZING moms from all over the US!
3.  You are constantly engaged in wonderful educational sessions!
4.  You come home with practical ideas to share with other mom's and colleagues! ~Chanda Kropp – 2010 Minnesota Delegate

I have this endless passion for changing (and bettering) education, but ever since I became a parent I wanted to give my passion a more defined context. Specifically I wanted to effect change as a consumer of the educational system rather than an outside advocate. Mom Congress was the perfect place to feed and define my advocacy efforts and to give me the lexicon necessary to make my voice heard within my community. ~Susana Carella 2011 Massachusetts Delegate

Becoming a Mom Congress delegate will rejuvenate you!  I went in thinking hmmm, what can I teach these people as I pretty much know everything? Within a couple hours I realized how much I had to learn and was SO excited to go back to my community and share all the many ideas I had learned.  I still am learning daily from my Mom Congress friends and they still continue to inspire me.  ~Shayne McCaslin – 2011 Arizona delegate

Participating in Mom Congress over the past few years has been an inspiring experience. Through the connections and friends that I have made, I have had so many great opportunities, and I just wanted to highlight a few (non-exhaustive!): attending the 2011 NBC News Education Nation Summit in New York; offering testimony for the record in the US Senate HELP Committee's hearing on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; meeting with representatives from the US Department of Education to discuss our concerns for getting parents involved in their children's education; and of course best of all, attending Mom Congress two years in a row: first as a delegate, and second as the Special and Gifted Education Mentor, where I had the chance to present a break-out session with Nancy Green of the NAGC. As amazing as these opportunities have been, though, the chance to meet passionate, like-minded moms who also care about improving our educational system has been far and away the best part of participating in Mom Congress. I have made great friends, and I look forward to meeting more amazing moms in the future! ~Melissa Bilash 2010 Pennsylvania Mom Congress Delegate

Last year, when I saw Parenting Magazine's call for delegates for the Mom Congress, I thought it would be a fabulous opportunity to hear from influential individuals in the field of education.  I was extremely interested to hear about current education policy from Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.  I began to read through the bios of the delegates who had been chosen the year before.  Their stories were extremely impressive and I felt it would be a great honor to be selected as member of the Mom Congress.   

As someone who is extremely passionate about arts education, I saw the Mom Congress as an opportunity to take part in something bigger than advocating for the arts in my own backyard.  Additionally, I felt the Mom Congress offered a chance for parents' and women's voices in particular, to become a part of education reform dialogue.  

What I didn't count on, was how the Mom Congress conference would change my life forever.  My fellow delegates' passion for education is inspiring and contagious and I consider myself lucky to be included in this wonderful organization.   ~Hillary Frambes – 2011 Ohio Delegate

Click here for more information on how to apply to be a delegate in 2012.