Nov. 3, 2017 – Washington Co., WI – An interesting week for PJ German of West Bend who worked as a Senate page at the State Capitol for a day.
The 17-year-old junior at West Bend West is looking to go to Madison for college and would like to pursue a career as a lawyer.
German has developed a great deal of interest in politics and applied to the program and was accepted.
German was sponsored by state Senator Duey Stroebel from the 20th Senate District.
On a side note: What goes into being a page for the day? Below is part of the form students must fill out.
Wisconsin State Senators may sponsor three to four Wisconsin students per year, to serve as a page in the State Capitol. Students must be in middle or high school and required to be 12 years of age or older.
Senators will sponsor a student who will serve for one day. It is the goal of the program for students to learn all they can about state government and how it functions. In addition to performing legislative duties, pages will be able to observe lawmakers, lobbyists, staff, and constituents that are all working together in the legislative process. Senate pages will serve the members by assisting in the delivery of important information and messages to Senate offices.
The Page for a Day program will be offered throughout the session on Tuesdays and Thursdays and will not be available during the Senate Scholar program.
A typical day would include:
Pages will arrive at 8:30 AM for orientation with the Legislative Education and Outreach Officer. They will then take a tour of the building and work with the Sergeant at Arms’ staff. After lunch, pages will be given time to meet their Senator and may spend time working in their Senator’s office. The rest of the afternoon the page will work with the Sergeant at Arms’ office and staff. The day would end at 4:00 PM.
The starting time can be flexible, depending on the needs of the student.
Application Requirements:
1) Completed Application
2) Complete an essay explaining why you want to be a ‘Page for a Day’
3) Signed consent forms
Photos courtesy Peter German
