Sarah Louise Heath was born February 11, 1964 in Sandpoint, Idaho. At the age of three month, she moved from Idaho to Alaska. Sarah is the third of three children. Palin is English, Irish, and German ancestry.
Family:
Sarah’s father, Charles, was a science teacher and a track coach. Her mother, Sally, was a school secretary. “The Palin family is a throwback to a different time, when everyone worked together and enjoyed the outdoors,” said Sarah. “Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same changes and joys.”
Childhood and school life:
Boys remember Sarah as one of the prettiest girls in middle/high school. As a junior at Wasilla High School in 1981, Palin competed as a member of the girls’ basketball team and a distance runner on the girls’ track and field team. They called her “Sarah Barracuda.”
In 1984, Sarah entered Miss Wasilla beauty pageant and won the title of “Miss Wasilla.” In 1984 also, she ran for Miss Alaska where she won first runner-up and Miss Congeniality. She met her husband now, Todd Palin, in high school. They spent a year in Hawaii at college; then moved back to Alaska together.
Hobbies, interests, activities:
As an interest, Sarah joined her daughters school as a PTA member. “I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids’ public education better.” After college, Sarah took a job as a television sports reporter in Anchorage, Alaska. Also, at an early age, Palin fell in love with the newspaper and read it from beginning to end.
Anecdotes:
“Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo, serve common good, and to leave this nation better then we found it,” said Sarah herself. Sarah became more known by crossing party lines in 2005, to join democratic state representative in filing an ethics complaint. If she was an outcast before, joining a democrat in filing complaints against a member of her own party, made Sarah, the enemy.
Sarah Palin matured as a leader in government, dealing with all negativity. Before she was elected governor, Sarah favored opposing terrorism wherever it is found and supported the deployment of troops. Sarah served two terms as mayor and made an unsuccessful try for lieutenant governor. In 1992, when she first ran, she beat her rival by more than 200 votes, which changed people outlooks on her; turning mean comments, positive. Sarah Palin didn't set out to become popular, she set out to be the best leader she could be.
Career:
In her young ages, Sarah Palin was a high school science teacher. Now, her career has changed. Palin was the first women to occupy a republican ticket for national office. In 2002, Sarah completed her last term as a mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
For most of her political life, Sarah has offered many changes. When she became governor, Sarah stepped up to an even more complex role with even broader functioned. Plain is not the first political candidate on the national scene to embody her beliefs through her actions and policies. She has shown the nation how to energize a state through authentic, genuine interest in the issues that matter to constituents.
Reason for fame:
Sarah Palin wanted to join office to make a change. As a member of the local PTA, Sarah was introduced to many things that needed change. “In politics, there are some candidates who change to promote their careers...and their are those who use their careers to promote change.” In 2006 Sarah entered the republican party primarily as a candidate for governor against the incumbent. When Sarah was elected mayor of Wasilla, she set out about making changes in the way things had always operated. People loved her for what she did. Sarah Palin is also known for her television show on TLC called, "Sarah Palin's Alaska" which brought in many viewers for an eight week season show. "Sarah Palin's Alaska" was an insight of how Sarah and her family went about every day. Some people loved the show because it showed her love towards Alaska and its wilderness, despite the haters, Palin and family are stronger then ever.
