Will Stevens was sitting in his freshman dorm at the University of Georgia when his phone lit up with a notification. It was a text from a number he didn’t know. The 19-year-old political science and public relations major doesn’t get random messages often, but this one was different. It was the beginning of an important part of his early professional career. 

“Well, it was kind of, it was kind of wild … I was in Myers, and then I get a text randomly. It says: ‘Hey, I need your help. Call me back ASAP,’” Stevens said.

The person behind the text? Barrow County Board of Education District 8 At-Large Candidate Renee Lord.

 Why It’s Newsworthy: Local elections impact a large portion of daily life in rural communities. With Barrow County less than 25 miles from Athens, the partnership between a University of Georgia student and a political candidate presents a unique intersection of younger generation’s political involvement and local decision-making.  

Lord first learned of Stevens after a mutual friend with the Jackson County GOP recommended she reach out to the University of Georgia student to help with her campaign. She texted as soon as she got the recommendation.

The two quickly began fostering a partnership to get their grassroots campaign off the ground. For Lord, grassroots meant working on the kitchen table and developing her strategy with friends and peers in the community.

Stevens was interested in collaborating with Lord on her campaign due to his view and outlook on the importance of local government.

“The school board race, the local government is where a lot of the citizens feel and see themselves represented,” Stevens said.

Lord, who is a registered Republican, ran against two other Republican candidates in the 2024 nonpartisan general primary: Brian MacNew and Kristin Reed. Even though all three candidates were Republican and appealed to the Barrow County GOP, the nonpartisan election called for a unique approach, and Lord and Stevens recognized that.

“​​So we definitely wanted to be a candidate, while still [having] strong conservative values, we definitely want to be a candidate that would represent and be on the school board for every person of Barrow County,” Stevens said.

To communicate this, the two focused on door knocking and social media. Stevens helped create graphics for items that would be handed out door to door and also designed graphics for Lord’s social media. The two also ran advertisements on Facebook/Instagram to spread their message.

Stevens also provided value beyond just creating graphics and helping with social media; he also applied what he has learned at the University of Georgia. 

“Even though it was grassroots, we really tried to utilize best practices and what was most likely going to happen based on similar campaigns and similar sized communities with similar topics,” Lord said.

Those practices led to Lord obtaining 44.15% of the vote on Election Day, May 24. This percentage was higher than her competitors, but not enough to secure a victory. This led to a runoff election on June 18. Lord then received 72.54% of the vote to win the Barrow County Board of Education District 8 At-Large seat.

Lord credits Stevens for being an important part in her overall campaign and for the eventual victory.

“I think he was really very important in getting the campaign off the ground as quickly as we did, I think we came out of the gate really fast, and I could not have done that without Will’s help,” said Lord.

Lord will now look forward to her upcoming term, where she steps into serving a school district with 17 schools, and will respond to the needs of a community recovering from a tragic shooting at Apalachee High School on Sept. 4, 2024 that left 4 dead and 9 injured, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Adam Walters is a student majoring in journalism with a certificate in sports media at the University of Georgia.