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<p class="has-drop-cap">Andrea Hunley and her teenage daughter stared at the rock climbing wall. Its red handholds snaked more than 10 feet into the air, but for two amateur climbers, the distance may as well have stretched five times that.</p>



<p>“I’m really bad at it, but it’s also really good to try something new,” Hunley, 38, told State Affairs. “I think it’s important for my kids to see me do things that are hard — and continue to push through.”</p>



<p>Her two daughters were also a big reason why Hunley, a longtime public school principal in Indianapolis, recently acquired another title: state senator. Hunley is the first person to represent a newly created district that spans the heart of the city.</p>



<p>And so, on that trip to the North Mass Boulder gym in February, Hunley reached for the first handhold. Then the next. And the next, until she soon found herself atop the wall, peering at her daughter below.<br><br>OK, Hunley said. You can do it, too.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="700" height="373" src="https://sa1dev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-22215" srcset="https://refactatla2dev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-3.jpg 700w, https://refactatla2dev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-3-300x160.jpg 300w, https://refactatla2dev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-3-180x180.jpg 180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon (Credit: Rep. Greg Steuerwald)</figcaption></figure>



<p>Hunley isn’t thinking about metaphors on the  trip to the climbing gym. For her, it’s a typical Saturday: She and her husband Ryan simply taking their 12- and 14-year-old daughters on an active family outing. When it’s not a hike through a state park or a historical walk down Indiana Avenue, it’s rock climbing.</p>



<p>But if Hunley ever let a fear of failing stop her, she might still be an English teacher living a relatively quiet life. She may not have enrolled in a master’s program while pregnant with her second child, later stepping out during breaks to meet her husband in the parking lot to nurse their newborn. She may not have become principal of the sought-after Center for Inquiry 2 in downtown Indianapolis, quickly earning the nickname “BP” from one teacher (it stands for Baby Principal) before garnering respect and admiration from educators and parents over 11 school years.</p>



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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full c-bio-box__avatar is-style-rounded"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="112" height="112" src="https://sa1dev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/hbd-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-21530" srcset="https://refactatla2dev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/hbd-1.png 112w, https://refactatla2dev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/hbd-1-100x100.png 100w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 112px) 100vw, 112px" /></figure>



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<p>[Name] State Affairs is committed to providing a place for a diversity of voices on a diversity of issues. We’d love to know what you think about this commentary or any of our stories. Email us at comments@stateaffairs.com or reach out and follow us on <a href="/">Facebook</a>, <a href="/">Twitter (@stateaffairsUS)</a> and <a href="/">Instagram</a>.</p>
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<p>And she certainly would not have dared to join a competitive state senate race against four other candidates, including someone backed by the Marion County Democratic Party.</p>



<p>So far, any fear of failing has been washed away from an even greater feeling of responsibility, particularly in education policy.</p>



<p>“It frustrates me that people are legislating on things that I do not feel that they fully understand,” Hunley told State Affairs. “If you walk into a school and you ask a teacher what the biggest issues in education are right now, they would say teacher pay, our teacher shortage and literacy.”</p>



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