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Dulaney High Student Selected to Serve on the Maryland Board of Education

Nina Marks is the first Baltimore County Public School student to sit on the board.

Nina Marks is ready to represent every public school student in the state of Maryland, even though she’s only in 11th grade.

Marks, a student at , will be the first Baltimore County Public School student to serve on the Maryland State Board of Education. She was named by Governor Martin O’Malley to serve on the board after an extensive application and selection process.

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has had a student sit on its 12-member board annually since 1985.

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Marks’ duties, as part of the board, will include taking part in setting the state’s education policies and standards for public schools and libraries. As part of the board, Marks will also aid in the selection of the new state superintendent. Nancy Grasmick, who currently holds this position, will retire next month, and Marks will participate in the selection of the next statewide education leader.

She says she is more than ready for the job.  

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“I like working," she says of what she enjoys doing in her free time. 

Even her television time is spent thinking and analyzing. Marks is an avid viewer of MSNBC and CNN, and she’s thinking of getting into political communication when she’s older. She inherits this interest from her mother, who wakes up to “Morning Joe" Scarborough every day, and his analysis of political news.

“She always been someone who’s been very social, from a young age, so it wasn’t surprising to me that she was interested in politics and community,” said Marks' mother, Mary Kay DiUbaldo. “I am someone who always has CNN on, and I watch a lot of political shows about current events, so I guess some of that has rubbed off. I wasn’t surprised when she started taking that interest.” 

Thinking and learning are in Marks’ blood, but they’re also in her heart.

“She’s always been someone who’s volunteered, and she’s always been an involved person,” said DiUbaldo.

DiUbaldo works with several nonprofit organizations and often brings her daughter. DiUbaldo said Marks, on her own, volunteered with her church, St. Francis Xavier in Hunt Valley, MD, this past summer. She went on a mission trip to build houses in West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains.

When asked how she’s going to juggle her new responsibility, Marks seemed surprised that any juggling would be involved.

“It’s going to be my first priority next year, aside from school,” she said, adding cheerfully, “I don’t see it as a burden because I enjoy doing it so much.”

Marks is already serving as the vice president and historian for the junior class, and is also a member of the National Honor Society and Dulaney’s Key Club. Additionally, she serves as publication coordinator, newsletter editor, and health and social issues coordinator for the Maryland Association of Student Councils.

So what’s to juggle?

“I guess the most challenging part of next year,” said Marks, “is going to be that I represent every student in Maryland, but less than two percent will know I exist. They know the governor exists, they know the state board exists, but they don’t know that a student representative even exists.”

Bill Reinhold, the spokesperson for the MSDE, said Marks’ contribution to the board will be the same as the other members, with the exception of voting on budget items and personnel issues.

“Otherwise [she will] have the same voting privileges as the rest of the members,” he said.

Reinhold added that each year, the student board member learns a lot about how education policy is developed. At the same time, the rest of the board is able to learn from the student’s unique perspective.

“They are able to listen to a student’s perspective on the issues that come before the board,” said Reinhold. “And most issues do have an aspect of it, whether it’s assessments given to students, or tenure granted to teachers, and how students might view that, or a new class that students might be able to take.

"There are a lot of issues that can pique some interest, and the student has a chance to really provide that perspective," he continued. "It’s a perspective that the other board members really value.”

Marks knows she has as much to learn as she has to offer, and she’s excited at how her perspectives and career plans might change.

“I know I’m going to learn a lot in this position,” she said. “What I might want to be, now, is going to change so drastically in the next year. I will be able to narrow down what I want to be—or change it completely.”

Marks’ teachers have faith that she was an excellent choice for the MSDE board position. Along with three essays and a résumé, Marks needed four letters of recommendation to be considered for the position, and she didn’t need to look far to find teachers willing to recommend her. 

Kathleen Skelton, who has been Marks’ Advanced Placement history teacher for two years, had this to say in an e-mail:

"She is a hardworking, dedicated student who has been successful in achieving academically and intellectually. She is a model student in class, elevating class discussion with insightful comments and questions. Her peers respect her example and respond to her genuine friendship. I have enjoyed having her in my class and we have had great conversations about history and current events. I see her as a leader and an inspiring citizen."

Marks, who considers her own hard work to be an enjoyable fact of life, seems a little mystified at the attention.

“I had no idea this would be that big a deal to everyone,” she said.

Marks’ term begins in July, and she will attend monthly board meetings for the year-long duration of her appointment. The current student board member, Gayon Sampson, a senior at Tuscarora High School in Frederick County, will be moving on to college and pursuing communications and law degrees.

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