In her final year as a high-school student in 1979, she was elected to the board of the School Student Union of Norway, and in the same year led the national charity event Operasjon Dagsverk, in which students collected money for Jamaica.
Som gymnasieelev blev hon 1979 invald i styrelsen för Norges studentkårer och ledde den nationella välgörenhetsgalan Operasjon Dagsverk samma år där studenterna samlade in pengar till Jamaica.