ProfiLes Paula

By Nancy Rodgers

When asked to recall her fondest childhood memory from growing up, Paula Hicks-Hudson says, “My best memory of growing up in Hamilton (Ohio) was the sense of community. It seems as if all the adults I encountered there encouraged, expected and provided opportunities for young people.”

Equality was a hallmark of the State Representative’s upbringing. “My parents instilled in me the idea that everyone is important. My father used to say that you treat the man on the street the same way that you treat the President of the United States. I believe that everyone desires to be heard and respected.” she said, adding, “much of who I am stems from the family that I grew up in.”

Rep. Hudson has always been drawn to public service. “In high school, I was a member of student government. My older brother used to say that I should become a lawyer because I always had an argument. I decided to go to law school to work on behalf of children.”

Rep. Hicks-Hudson knows the value of education, saying, “Education is the most precious and powerful tool one can have. My father left the segregated South with a 6th grade education. He instilled into his children that education was one thing that could not be taken away.”

A proud graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Rep. Hicks-Hudson “ was exposed to talented and smart African American women leaders who were teachers, national figures and icons in their various fields/professions. We were told that we could change the world.”