Classes, meetings and campaigning. Prior to the Nov. 2 election, this was all in a day’s work for Jenna Wadsworth.

Wadsworth, the Wake County Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor, grew up on a family farm where corn, soybeans, tobacco, cattle and hogs were raised.

Now that she has won the seat, she will juggle both her elected position along with being a junior in political science at N.C. State — a job she says is important to her.

“My school work is important,” Wadsworth said, “but serving Wake County is also important.”

Wadsworth left the family farm early, at age 16, to spend a summer studying coastal geology with a state grant at UNC-Wilmington. Wadsworth also attended North Carolina School of Science and Math before coming to N.C. State.

“I’ve been active with politics since I was 16 or 17,” Wadsworth said. ”I helped with local races.”

Wadsworth said she wanted to be able to make a difference in the community. Since being at N.C. State Wadsworth became active in various environmental groups and joined the Wake County Soil & Water Office.

“I got involved earlier with the Wake County Soil & Water Office. I saw the election as an opportunity to make my community a better place,” Wadsworth said.

According to Wadsworth, the decision to run was a difficult one and came after talking with a member of the Durham County Soil & Water Office who ran while still in school. Danielle Adams is the elected secretary and treasurer of the Durham County Soil & Water board of supervisors.

“Danielle Adams was still in school when she ran for office in Durham County,” Wadsworth said. “After I talked to her about how she managed being a full-time student and making big changes in soil and water conservation in Durham County, I felt confident and filed for office.”

While in office, one of the main things Wadsworth said she wants to accomplish is cleaning up Falls Lake, Raleigh’s primary reservoir.

According to the state of North Carolina, Falls Lake reservoir covers almost 12,500 acres with water. The surrounding 25,500 acres are also associated with the reservoir.

“I want to help clean up Falls Lake. This is a pressing water issue facing Wake County that has political connections,” Wadsworth said. ”It is absolutely vital to Wake County Soil & Water to have a voice and say in what happens to Falls Lake.”

Legislation about Falls Lake is currently being considered by the General Assembly.

“It is crucial for us to interact with the General Assembly,” Wadsworth said.

Another important aspect of serving the Wake County Soil & Water Conservation office is farmland preservation, according to Wadsworth.

“I grew up on a family farm. Farmland preservation is important to me,” Wadsworth said. “We’ve seen an 85 percent decline in the number of family farms in Wake County since I was born.”

According to Wadsworth, with the economic downturn, it is easy to support family farmers.

“I’ve worked with the board with different ideas to support the farmers,” Wadsworth said. “We want to keep money and jobs here in Wake County.”

Food travels an average of 1,500 miles before reaching the dinner plate, and according to Wadsworth, it just makes sense to support local farmers and decrease that number.

“What type of soil your food was grown in and the quality of the water used to water it is important,” Wadsworth said. “It’s pretty important for us to know what things we are putting in our body.”

Wadsworth will serve a four-year term with the Wake County Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor. Although Wadsworth said she is not precluding the possibility of running for another office someday, she says this is her focus for her term.

“I want to do a good job,” Wadsworth said. “I’m focused on serving the citizens in Wake County. Right now, this is what I’m committed to doing for the next four years.”

According to Wadsworth, a lot of voters don’t participate in the mid-term elections.

“People often don’t vote in this race. I think it’s sad that people don’t vote in a race that deals with things as important as your drinking water,” Wadsworth said.

Also, a lot of people don’t actively run for the office, something Wadsworth said she finds problematic.

“I’ve already talked to farmers and people downtown about what the board does,” Wadsworth said. “I’m asking people to hold me accountable, to come to me if you have any questions or need help with meeting conservation needs.”

The election was a three-way race, with the two candidates with the most votes being elected. Wadsworth was the top candidate with 41.19 percent of the total votes.