State Rep. Carolyn Dykema addressed the crowd at a women’s rights rally in 2020. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

State Rep. Carolyn Dykema, a Holliston Democrat who represents Hopkinton, announced Monday that she was resigning her post as of Feb. 11.

Dykema, who was elected in 2008 and has served ever since, has taken the position of Northeast policy director with Boston-based solar energy company Nexamp.

“It’s been the honor of my life to represent the residents of the 8th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts legislature,” Dykema shared in a press release. “After 13 years as your State Representative, I’ll be moving on to a new challenge! While this is an exciting opportunity and a promising new chapter, it is bittersweet leaving a role I’ve loved and the wonderful people I’ve been so grateful to serve.

“The residents of Holliston, Hopkinton, Southborough and Westborough are remarkable people, and I’ve been incredibly proud to be your State Representative. Your welfare and well-being have always been at the center of my work. You trusted me to represent you, and I hope I earned that trust every day. There are so many thanks to go around and I’ll look forward to speaking with many of you personally in the coming weeks.”

Dykema has been a frequent presence in Hopkinton, and at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, board members sung her praises.

“I think that we have been so well and professionally and ably served by Representative Dykema,” Muriel Kramer said. “We certainly will miss her. She has really established sort of the gold standard I think for anybody who follows and tries to fill her pumps. We really do wish her well.”

Brendan Tedstone said he welcomed Dykema’s contributions to the town’s Veterans Celebration Committee.

“She is the epitome of what, in my eyes, anybody as a politician should aspire to be,” he said. “She is absolutely on the ball and rock solid when it comes to the Veterans Celebration Committee. And as far as just any other issues that I’ve ever had to deal with her, although we sit on opposite ends of the political fence, she does a wonderful job bridging — she’s not an extremist either way, right or left, and I think that she’s absolutely everything that anybody who is in politics from local to national politics should aspire to be. She’s a wonderful person, and we will sadly miss her as a state rep, and I will sadly miss working with her on the Veterans Celebration Committee.”

The Massachusetts Speaker of the House will decide whether to hold a special election or leave the seat vacant until the November election.