“Ever since I was a young child, I would have people coming to me telling me their personal problems. I'm like, what, do I have a sign on my forehead that says come talk to me?”

 

Pauline Campbell is the serving County Commissioner for Robeson County, North Carolina, where she provides for anything the county may need; But before that Pauline Campbell served as the mental health counselor of Robeson County where she improved the mental health for those living there. In order to be a mental health counselor Ms. Campbell attended North Carolina Pembrook, and graduated with a masters degree which was not required. ”I obtained a master's degree from the university of North Carolina Pembroke,which is not required to be a professional counselor.” Ms. Campbell would continue this until 2019 where she would run for the office of County Commissioner for Robeson County.

 

Ms. Campbell's work as county commissioner was impacted during the Covid Pandemic. There are no longer in-person meetings for the Board of Commissioners. Half of these board members would later become infected with Covid-19. Ms. Campbell is concerned, and anxious that she may catch Covid-19 similar to her peers on the board. Only after getting the covid vaccine did she feel some form of reassurance from the virus. ”till I have to wear the mask and follow the city suit guidelines, but still, I feel I'm not afraid to go out anymore and be around people.“ Some precautions Robeson County has made to keep Covid-19 from spreading among the board during in person meetings are plexiglass shields, masks and social distancing. So far these seem to be effective.

However there is a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how long and dark this tunnel may be. Ms. Campbell doesn’t see any permanent changes happening for the County Commissioners. “I'm actually looking forward to it to see how much we can go back to normal. What we knew as normal.“  Ms. Campbell continues to look for a positive no matter how grim the situation may seem, and she longs for the day when Covid-19 is just an afterthought.