Everyone can work to make a difference, the "Housewife from Johnstown" who shook up the 1990 gubernatorial Republican primary said Thursday night.

Peg Luksik spoke to about 20 students on her race for governor and her work with Mom's House, a day-care center for the children of single parents. Luksik spoke as part of Human Life Awareness Week sponsored by Penn State Students for Life.

Peg Luksik, known as the "Housewife from Johnstown" because she identified herself as such in her campaign, garnered 46 percent of the vote when she ran against Barbara Hafer in the 1990 Republican primary for governor.

"I entered the (governor's) race because of what I believed in," Luksik said. Barbara Hafer said she spoke for the women of Pennsylvania, Luksik said, "but she didn't speak for me."

Luksik said she has been married 12 years and has four children, ranging in age from 2 to 8. She is expecting a fifth child in June.

Hafer ran unopposed for the latter part of the campaign until Luksik decided to enter the race for governor six days before the filing deadline, she said. Luksik said she did not believe she would win -- but winning was not her goal.

"This isn't about winning," she said. "This is about principle."

But in just six weeks of campaigning she carried 14 counties.

"I think that the election was a success," she said.

Luksik attributes her success in the election to popular support. "We ran our campaign door to door," she said.

"They didn't want politicians," she said. "They wanted leaders."

Luksik also talked extensively about her work as the founder and executive director of Mom's House.

Mom's House is a day-care center for the children of single parents who are attending school. The center charges nothing but requires the parent to attend school regularly, maintain passing grades, and help out at the center three hours a week, Luksik said.

Luksik founded the original Mom's House in 1983 in Johnstown. Six additional Mom's Houses have started, Luksik said, including four in Pennsylvania, one in New York and one in Canada.

Pilot chapters of Mom's House also formed in Arizona, Connecticut, Ohio, and Greensburg, Pa.

Luksik took a leave of absence from Mom's House to run for governor. She did not want to run, she said, but could not let Hafer win unopposed.

She said she has no intention of running for office again, but will if a similar situation ever arises.

Students attending the speech said Luksik was very inspiring.

"I like how she's willing to stand up for what she believes in," Tricia Giannini (sophomore-mechanical engineering) said, who also worked on the Luksik campaign. "She doesn't worry about the politics."

Hernando Herrera (graduate-clinical child psychology) said he was impressed by Luksik's integrity in running for office.

Her work with Mom's House is also inspiring, Herrera said. "She's putting in time and energy where women need it the most."