Having a three day weekend on Memorial Day, most McLean students lazily woke up to enjoy their extra rest. This was not the case for sophomore Mohamed Mohamed, who took the time out of his Memorial Day holiday to support his preferred Democratic candidate of the Providence District for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Erika Milena Yalowitz in the 38th Annual Falls Church Memorial Day Parade and Festival.

“I had never seen a parade before, let alone been in one,” Mohamed said. “Still, I held up a banner in support of Erika Yalowitz.”

Mohamed has seen Yalowitz’s abilities almost first-hand.

“I know Erika because we live in the same apartment complex in Tysons,” Mohamed said. “Ever since she came here, she has found her place in the Rotonda Unit Owners’ Association and has been an advocate for positive change here. In such a short period of time, many important improvements like new [electric vehicle] charging stations have appeared, and she even organized a kids play group for all of the little children here.”

Yalowitz has many long term ambitions for the district.

“First things first I will have more sidewalks and lights built in the Tysons area, it’s far too residential to be so unfriendly to pedestrians,” Yalowitz said. “I also understand that the most significant hindrance to the solution of McLean’s overcrowding is the lack of communication between the Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax County School Board, which I aim to fix.”

Mohamed is particularly intrigued by politics and aims to learn more about it through his support of Yalowitz.

“I didn’t even know what the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors was before meeting her,” Mohamed said.

Supporting a local political candidate does more than providing an opportunity to learn about politics.

In fact, colleges look for an application that illustrates commitment and dedication, and actively supporting a local political candidate like Mohamed is doing helps fulfill that requirement.

“I love it,” Mohamed said. “I’m living the best of both worlds, learning which candidate to support and how to do so, while boosting my college application.”