East High School alumnus Ursel McElroy’s constant desire to do more should serve as a wonderful example to all Ohio youth, but especially to minority students in Youngstown.

It is that drive that landed McElroy in Columbus as the director of the Ohio Department of Aging.

McElroy relayed her story recently to a Vindicator reporter. At East, she was a good student involved in extra-curricular activities. Her family didn’t have a lot of money, but she said they “didn’t live without.”

She had no specific career plans, and it wasn’t until she was urged by a guidance counselor that she thought about her future and applied for admission and was accepted to The Ohio State University.

It was there that she “met great people” and “worked really hard.”

“I had some fun, but I’ve always had this desire to do more. I’ve always felt like I could do more. I think that’s a lot of what motivates me now, then, probably forever,” McElroy said during a telephone interview from Columbus last week.

Ultimately, the Youngstown native earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and went to work for the Franklin County Department of Human Services, the agency now known as the Department of Job and Family Services. Her job was to investigate elder abuse.

A 24-year career followed in which she moved to the Franklin County Office on Aging, Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Ohio Department of Youth Services, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Then, in January 2019, Gov. Mike DeWine named her director of the Ohio Department of Aging.

More recently, she also was appointed by DeWine as chairwoman of the minority health strike force that last week unveiled a plan to improve minority health regarding the coronavirus, which disproportionately affects African-Americans.

McElroy’s 25-year ascent to the top position in state government dealing with older citizens was slow and steady. That ascent should be an example to young minority women from the Mahoning Valley if they, as McElroy did, always believe they can do more.

McElroy’s success didn’t come without encouragement.

She recalled that East High Principal Lock P. Beachum Sr. helped students understand their potential, and he held students to a high standard.

Teachers at East pushed students into positive things, she said.

And, of course, she had the support of her parents.

When asked recently about McElroy, Beachum, a longtime Youngstown schools administrator, school board member and Youngstown City Council member, said McElroy “believed in herself and had backup from her parents.”

All that combined to help her carry a positive attitude that made her a success.

“You don’t have to have a college education, but you have to have an attitude that I am going to be independent. I always told them don’t depend on a man or somebody else. Your destiny is within yourself,” Beachum said.

It was her ability to articulate, her no-nonsense attitude, strength and her passion that led to her appointment, DeWine said.

We are proud to know that McElroy is a native of our Valley, and we are proud of the excellent example that she is setting for young people, showing them that with ambition and hard work, they, too, can reach high goals.