As a teenager she recalled thinking that politics was "boring" and "wasn't really relevant to me".
But now Jill Macauley has seven years as a local councillor under her belt - and works to encourage more women to get involved.
For the UUP Banbridge representative, it all began with being "dragged along" by her mum to a party meeting at which former North Down MP Lady Sylvia Hermon was a guest speaker.
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"I think I was about 16 or 17 at the time, and certainly you know, politics wasn't really relevant to me as I thought," she said.
"But the fact that this lady's coming in full of charisma and just a rural girl - she grew up in a very rural part of the country as well.
"And that certainly inspired me to think, well if a lady like this can do something good and bring something very positive to politics, somebody like me maybe could some day as well."
In later years she helped former South Down MLA John McCallister in his election campaign.
"I was actively involved with the Ulster Unionist Party in that, and I really got the bug ever since then."
Mrs Macauley was elected in 2019 to the Banbridge area of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon council and is standing again in the upcoming poll on May 18.
Before that, the mum of four served for three years as a councillor on Newry, Mourne and Down Borough Council.
She and her husband Robert run a dairy farm from their home outside Rathfriland, as well as a nearby holiday let as part of a farm diversification project.
Mrs Macauley described family life as "hectic" as she balances council work with helping on the farm and the school run.
Laughing, the 44-year-old said: "I've got to the stage in life now that actually housework is probably therapeutic.
"But apart from that and catching up on homeworks and assignments and helping my children navigate through life as well, I do love to get out into the country.
"We've a lot going on outside and I love to get up into the Mournes as well."
In the driveway of her home is parked a Mini branded with Ulster Unionist Party logos, which was used in last year's Assembly election as well as the local campaign this time.
"I do feel a distinct difference on the doors from people. People are very frustrated with the current climate. People want to see politicians back at their work at Stormont," she said.
"And I think it's getting that message through that us as councillors have never stopped working.
"We have continued to deliver, continued to represent and continued to actually make this part of Northern Ireland a good place to live and work."
Reflecting on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Mrs Macauley said she was "very proud" to be involved in a party which played a key role in the 1998 peace deal.
She said the party leadership such as the late David Trimble made significant sacrifices "personally and politically to bring peace, and I admired that".
"I saw certainly the chance for an optimistic future. I really did see the benefit of good leaders and peacemakers of our country that actually brought us forward together," she said.
But she expressed frustration at the outworkings of the 2006 St Andrews Agreement which led to the DUP and Sinn Féin sharing power at Stormont.
She said the St Andrews Agreement enabled a "race for First Minister" which has "really divided politics in Northern Ireland".
"And that is in my eyes very sad, very unfortunate," she said.
"Parties like ourselves in the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP did so much heavy lifting back in the dark days, and brought peace to Northern Ireland, but sadly, the St Andrews Agreement has divided politics at Assembly level and created such a political vacuum.
"It's certainly something that I feel very saddened about because it actually hampers diversity.
"It gives those smaller voices a less of a chance of opportunity to be heard. And really, it turns everything so negative, so toxic. And I think they all thrive off each other, the division."
As chair of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mrs Macauley said she seeks to reach out to people.
"And certainly myself and a number of colleagues, we would do a lot of work to try and encourage young women into politics and make them realise that actually it's not all boring, not all toxic and it's actually a wee bit fun with it."
She added: "I want to be able to bring a positive, confident, pro-Union attitude to politics and be respectful to those that you disagree with, and be respectful to those that have gone before.
"I like working with people from all backgrounds, but that doesn't make me any less a unionist.
"It doesn't make me any less an elected representative and certainly, my values will always stay true to me. But I will always work with other people in a respectful way to get things done."
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