Benjamin Howard, a sophomore at Battle Ground’s CAM Academy, spent a week working as a page for the Washington State Senate at the Capitol in Olympia. Benjamin was one of 29 students who served as Senate pages for the eighth week of the 2016 legislative session.

He was sponsored by 18th Legislative District Sen. Ann Rivers, Senate majority whip.

“Benjamin is bright young man and he has a promising future ahead of him. It was a pleasure to have him here in the Capitol and I appreciate all the work he did for us,” said Rivers, R-La Center.

The Senate Page Program is an opportunity for Washington students to spend a week working in the Legislature. Students are responsible for transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering messages and mail. Pages spend time in the Senate chamber and attend page school to learn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process. Students also draft their own bills and engage in a mock session.

“Being in a place where you casually see senators or the governor walking around is such a cool experience,” said Benjamin about some of the highlights of his week at the Capitol.

Benjamin enjoys reading, playing video games and acting. He recently was in a play of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” at his local high school. Benjamin played the part of Biondello who is as Benjamin puts it is the “thinking man’s clown.”

Benjamin, 16, is the son of Michael and Angela Howard of Battle Ground.

Students interested in the Senate Page Program are encouraged to visit: https://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram/

Justin Krejcha, a junior at Mountain View High School in Vancouver, spent a week working as a page for the Washington State Senate at the Capitol in Olympia. Justin was one of 26 students who served as Senate pages for the seventh week of the 2016 legislative session.

He was sponsored by 18th Legislative District Sen. Ann Rivers, Senate majority whip.

“I enjoy getting to meet all the bright young scholars through our page program, so I was more than happy to sponsor Justin to be a part of our team for this important week of session,” said Rivers, R-La Center.

The Senate Page Program is an opportunity for Washington students to spend a week working in the Legislature. Students are responsible for transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering messages and mail. Pages spend time in the Senate chamber and attend page school to learn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process. Students also draft their own bills and engage in a mock session.

“Make the most of your time here and get as much done as possible; you’re only here for a week!” said Justin about what his advice would be to any upcoming pages.

Justin enjoys volunteering, debate, and being in Boy Scouts.

Justin, 16, is the son of John and Karen Krejcha of Vancouver.

Students interested in the Senate Page Program are encouraged to visit: https://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram/

Cole VanderMaas, a sophomore at Hockinson High School in Brush Prairie, spent a week working as a page for the Washington State Senate at the Capitol in Olympia. Cole was one of 26 students who served as Senate pages for the seventh week of the 2016 legislative session.

He was sponsored by 18th Legislative District Sen. Ann Rivers, Senate majority whip.

“I was more than happy to sponsor a young man with such a promising future. I appreciate the work he did for us during the week here at the Capitol,” said Rivers, R-La Center.  

The Senate Page Program is an opportunity for Washington students to spend a week working in the Legislature. Students are responsible for transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering messages and mail. Pages spend time in the Senate chamber and attend page school to learn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process. Students also draft their own bills and engage in a mock session. 

“This is a great experience whether you are very into politics or not. Overall it was a really fun,” said Cole about why students should apply for the page program.

Cole enjoys participating in musical theatre, cross country, studying history and learning languages. He wants to study either political science or international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Cole, 15, is the son of Tony and Amy VanderMaas of Brush Prairie.

Students interested in the Senate Page Program are encouraged to visit: https://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram/

Gloria Boieriu, a junior from Columbia River High school, spent a week working as a page for the Washington State Senate at the Capitol in Olympia. Boieriu was one of 10 students who served as Senate pages for the second week of the 2016 legislative session.

She was sponsored by 18th Legislative District Sen. Ann Rivers.

“Gloria is bright young woman and she has a promising future ahead of her. It was a pleasure to have her here in the Capitol for the second week of session,” said Rivers.

The Senate Page Program is an opportunity for Washington students to spend a week working in the Legislature. Students are responsible for transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering messages and mail. Pages spend time in the Senate chamber and attend page school to learn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process. Students also draft their own bills and engage in a mock session.

“My favorite part was meeting Senator Ann Rivers,” she said about participating in the Senate Page Program. “She cares about the people and wants them to be in the best care possible. Senator Rivers represents them very well and tries to see both sides of the argument,” added Gloria about her thoughts on Senator Rivers.

She plans on going to University of Washington to study medicine to become a family physician.

Gloria enjoys singing for Romanian Baptist Church of Portland, participates in Art club, Spanish club, History club, Red Cross club, and Outdoors club.

Gloria, 16, is the daughter of Ovidiu and Mariana Boieriu of Vancouver, WA.

Students interested in the Senate Page Program are encouraged to visit: https://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram/