Despite cutting short her potential time in office, 50th District Rep. Sara Walsh chose to be sworn in to office during the legislative veto session Sept. 16.
However, doing otherwise would not have best served the district, she said.
"I'm not looking at this as a career," she said. "I've always wanted to make a difference."
Walsh has worked for the Missouri State Auditor's Office, the National Newspaper Association, a local factory and a fast food restaurant. She worked full-time while earning her bachelor of science degree in business administration and marketing from Columbia College and her master's degree in public affairs, nonprofit management and public management from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The 50th District, which reaches roughly from California to Columbia and Jefferson City to Boonville, had no representation during the spring session after former Rep. Caleb Jones resigned in January to join Gov. Eric Greitens' staff.
Walsh left her job at the Missouri Pharmacy Association this past winter after being named the Republican candidate for the seat.
"I told my husband, I know how I operate - I dive deeply into things; I have a very intense personality," she said.
In the six months she spent full time on the campaign trail, Walsh said, she became familiar with the issues important to the constituents of the district.
Once elected Aug. 8, she wanted to learn as much as she could about those issues to be prepared for the upcoming session, she said.
If she had waited until January 2018 to be sworn, she would not have had the state government resources.
For example, she is preparing a survey, which should be in residents' hands by late fall. She also has been meeting with local community leaders and state agency representatives to fully understand their roles, needs and challenges.
Also, she was appointed to the budget and pensions committees, as well as the special committee on employment security.
The next day, she was busy taking notes in her first committee hearing, she said. Unlike the House floor, which tends to be chaotic with side conversations and activity in addition to the matters at hand, the committee hearing was orderly and allowed her to learn from the different perspective, she said.
In the next few months, Walsh will continue to educate herself on the committees' issues by talking one on one with those potentially affected by decisions.
"I probably could find that information on a website, but I want to hear from the different agency leaders," she said. "I want to be more fully educated to dive deeply into these issues so, when hearings resume, I will have information to bring to the table."
She has been meeting with the public administrator in each of the four counties in the 50th District - Moniteau, Cole, Cooper and Boone.
"I want to know the effects and impacts and what their job looks like," said Walsh, who lives in Ashland.
She also has made her office accessible to district residents by attending as many local events as possible.