My name is Fatima Mezdad. I have lived in Concord for four years with my two children who are now teenagers and attend the Concord Middle School and the Concord Carlisle High School.
I immigrated to the US from Algeria in the Fall of 1995. I became a US citizen in 2009. For most of my career I was a teacher of languages to students of different ages primarily in private school settings.
During my undergraduate studies of English language and literature at the University of Algiers, nearly 4,000 miles away from Concord, I learned about Alcott, Thoreau and Emerson. I was immersed in Walden, not knowing that I would get to take in its serenity and beauty and walk in the footsteps of Thoreau, or that my child would attend a school by his name. It does not come as a surprise that the town of Concord with its history and culture is a natural fit for me to live, work and raise my family.
I have a deep involvement, commitment and support of the Concord community and more specifically our schools. I am grateful to have a voice and to be heard. I have been serving on the CMS Challenge Success Steering Committee since the Fall of 2018. I am also the SEPAC liaison for the middle school. Last year, I was elected as a board member of the Concord Housing Authority. This year, I was honored to join the Allocations Committee of the Concord Carlisle Community Chest.
I am proud to be a Jetpac Fellow and even prouder for having won the race for Concord School Committee with the rigorous Jetpac Public Service Fellowship training.
The fellowship provided me with the tools I needed to run a successful campaign. I benefited immensely from the mentorship of Shaun Kennedy and Mohammad Missouri. Their extensive knowledge of political campaigning, their determination, confidence and laser-sharp focus have been instrumental in helping to guide me and to persevere through a challenging campaign made only more daunting with the COVID 19 pandemic.
I am grateful for this victory and thankful to everyone who supported me in every way they could. I feel extremely fortunate and privileged to have such a supportive base.
I humbly aspire to serve as a role model to those of us who feel underrepresented. I hope to inspire minorities to claim their seat at the table, make their voice heard and participate in the decision making in their communities even when it feels like an uphill battle. We will turn the page on discrimination together, one community at a time. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his speech “Citizenship in a Republic” challenged us to “dare greatly!”
I urge you to dare greatly and support Jetpac in their mission to empower minorities for civic engagement.
Democracy is not a spectator sport!