Longwood to the legislature: Alumnae find common ground in Richmond

Longwood prepared me for the real world. I had a lot of professors who pushed me to think critically and to really get involved and work hard. That's important to what I'm doing now and my journey after graduating.

"Longwood prepared me for the real world," said Franklin, who grew up in the Roanoke area and represents a southwest district that includes parts of her hometown and Montgomery County. "I had a lot of professors who pushed me to think critically and to really get involved and work hard. That's important to what I'm doing now and my journey after graduating."

After earning a degree in political science in 2015, Franklin spent a year teaching through the Teach for America program, then worked for five years as the chief of staff to a member of the House of Delegates. She now owns her own consulting business and serves as a swim coach. In her free time she also enjoys reading, a love that was fostered by a class she took with Dr. Derek Taylor, professor of 18th-century British literature.

"I was really struggling in world literature class and he helped me through what I needed to do to think critically about works of literature," she said. "He helped me learn how to enjoy reading and turned it into something that I am now passionate about. I read books almost every week."

Carnegie, a Chesapeake native, graduated from Longwood summa cum laude in 2004 with a degree in sociology and business administration. She went on to earn a law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. Carnegie owns and operates an all-female law firm where the primary practice areas are estate planning, probate and a variety of civil matters.

Carnegie knew she wanted to go to law school before she got to college, because she wanted to be an advocate for people. But instead of majoring in political science or pre-law, she got hooked on sociology after taking an intro-level class. She also still uses the accounting skills she learned on a daily basis.

Having that business background really made a big impact on me being able to run my own business and be a successful attorney. I don't know that I would have had such an easy transition opening my practice if I hadn't had those skills.

"Having that business background really made a big impact on me being able to run my own business and be a successful attorney," she said. "I don't know that I would have had such an easy transition opening my practice if I hadn't had those skills."

Both Carnegie and Franklin said they felt at home the moment they first stepped onto campus.

"I was looking for something that felt like a community," Franklin said. "I wanted the small-to-medium school vibes that Longwood has versus big universities. I felt that personal touch and Longwood just called me."

Carnegie met her husband, Adam Carnegie '04, at Longwood. She came to visit because her mother, Karen Perkins Robins '74, is an alum and ultimately it was the only place she applied.

"I immediately fell in love with it," she recalled. "I loved the sense of community and belonging, and that it was a safe space to have your own thoughts and opinions."

Carnegie and Franklin were welcomed to the General Assembly by one colleague who has long ties to Longwood and Farmville-Delegate Rodney Willett, son of former President Dr. Henry I. Willett Jr.

It's wonderful to see the Lancer spirit thriving in Richmond. It is especially meaningful to share that spirit with two colleagues who truly embody it.

"It's wonderful to see the Lancer spirit thriving in Richmond," said Willett, who spent his formative years in Prince Edward County. "It is especially meaningful to share that spirit with two colleagues who truly embody it."

With one General Assembly session under their belts, both alumnae emphasized how often cooperation outweighs partisan conflict in the legislature.

"The thing that I've enjoyed the most is getting to know and collaborate with my peers on both sides of the aisle, because at the end of the day we're all more alike than we think," Carnegie said. "We look at these bills and most of us agree on them, except for a few key issues."

"Most of the work that we do is bipartisan," Franklin added. "We get along 90 percent of the time, and we're doing a lot of good work to make sure everybody's lives are better here in Virginia."