Supporting Alamance Families

About Alice Bordsen

It has truly been a privilege to serve my County and State in the North Carolina General Assembly since 2002.  My ties to North Carolina run deep and span nearly three centuries.  That history on my maternal side and the knowledge that two of my ancestors served in the N.C. House of Representatives lend a special obligation to do the job well.

N.C. Childhood: Friends, Church and Reading

I grew up in Charlotte, the oldest of five children, and attended public schools there.  My dad was from Minnesota, coming from a family of Norwegian immigrants who developed prosperous grain and dairy farms.  He and my mother met as he was training for military service.

After my dad completed that service in World War II, he came back to North Carolina to marry the woman who became my mother.  After marrying, they traveled to Minnesota so that my dad could complete his university education.  When I was six weeks old, they returned to North Carolina where dad began his accounting business.

My folks lived in a small house in a typical post-WWII neighborhood that had many children my age.  It was a time when I could roam the neighborhood freely even as a small child.  I went to the neighborhood Presbyterian church for Girl Scouts and walked to school and to all of my friends’ homes.  My lifelong passion for reading began here.  I am a “garbage can” learner, and am interested in reading and learning about nearly anything.

My high school had a large band and orchestra program, which is where I had the most fun and found most of my friends.  Still, I continued in Girl Scouts and was active with my church youth group.  In fact, we spent a great deal of time at church: youth groups on Sunday night, choir on Thursday, Bible study on Wednesday night, and Sunday School and church on Sunday morning.  My mom grew up in that same church, my grandparents helped start the church, my folks were married there, I was baptized there.  It was my other home.

Professional Life: Librarian, Small Business Owner, Real Estate Broker, Lawyer

My undergraduate years were tumultuous ones; I began college in 1965 when the Vietnam War was at its peak.  I graduated from UNC–Chapel Hill with a degree in history.  After a number of years, I returned to UNC and earned my Master’s in Library Science in 1981, after which I worked, first, as a school media coordinator, then as a university librarian.  Additionally, I have been a small business owner and still hold my license in real estate brokerage.  In 2002 I earned my law license and became a member of the North Carolina Bar.  For the last 20 years I have made Alamance County my home.

Why Public Life?

My law degree came later in life.  When I turned 50, my father died unexpectedly.  The convergence of these two events sent me into a time of soul-searching about the importance of engaging in work that is most meaningful to me.  I thought a great deal about what I really liked in all of the work I had done.  My conclusion was that what truly interested me was public policy – what are the public purposes underlying our laws?  Earning a law degree would provide access to that area of work.

I attended North Carolina Central University School of Law.  During my law school years, I served on the Mebane City Council and became a Fellow of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership.  In 2001, I received my law degree.  In 2002, I passed the Bar and was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Family

I could not have managed all of this without the love and support from my family.  My husband Donald Oehler, daughters Meredith Jones and Elisabeth Scharf, granddaughter Abby and grandson Cameron are the most important people in my life.  They are my mainstays.

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Contact:

Representative Alice L. Bordsen

North Carolina General Assembly

State Legislative Office Building

300 N Salisbury Street, Rm 530

Raleigh, NC  27603-5925

Raleigh office:  919.733.5820

Mebane office:  919.563.5092

E-mail:  aliceb@ncleg.net

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