Manchester students helped keep lawmakers on track
By Marcy Horwitz CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Allison Shomaker hands papers to Clerk of the Senate Susan Clarke Schaar while working on the Senate floor during the 2008 General Assembly session.

On a normal day, Alex Barnes and Allison Shomaker would be doing the things that eighth-grade students at Manchester Middle School like to do - talking with friends, working on the yearbook, playing sports, sitting in class and the like. But for 75 days that began on Jan. 6 through early March, there were no such things as "normal" days for these two Chesterfield teens. For the 2008 legislative session, Allison was a member of the Virginia Senate Page Program, and Alex was a page for the House of Delegates.

Thirty-four young teens from across the commonwealth served as House pages this year with two special teens appointed as head pages. The Senate elected 11 pages - one from each of Virginia's congressional districts - and appointed five additional pages, plus a limited number of messengers. This year, 32 young people worked as Senate pages and messengers. Chesterfield usually sends a page or messenger to the General Assembly every other year.

Pages and messengers carry bills between offices, distribute mail, run errands, copy and collate documents, recycle old papers and more so legislators can concentrate on the issues they were elected to address. In return for their participation, pages and messengers are paid a modest salary and daily expenses.

The work days are long, and some tasks are less than absorbing. It's a constant challenge to keep up with schoolwork, and there's a certain longing for friends and family at home. But these two young women wouldn't have had it any other way.

House Page Alex enjoyed the independence of living with her fellow pages and messengers in a downtown Richmond hotel. "That has been really fun," she said, during an interview prior to the General Assembly adjourning on Mar. 8. The group took an extended dinner hour after the end of each work day before settling down to a mandatory evening study hall, where they worked on the assignments their teachers had forwarded to them.

Senate Messenger Allison, who attends the Center-Based Gifted Program at Manchester, particularly appreciates the new friends she's made as a result of participating in the program. "Everyone is accepted," she said. "You go everywhere with everyone. You get to make new acquaintances." She calls the program a "great learning experience."

Assistant Clerk of the Senate Gwen Bailey coordinates the Senate page program and couldn't agree with her young charge more.

Bailey calls the pages and messengers "the legs of the General Assembly."

"The civics textbook comes to life" when the teens interact with lawmakers, government officials and others, she says. "Harry Potter has nothing on us."

Pages and messengers "step into a civics reality [game]" that teaches them how to dress appropriately (in standard-cut, navy blue blazers, grey skirts/slacks, white blouses or shirts, ties for the boys, and good walking shoes for everyone), how to get to work on time, how to behave in an adult environment, and even how to budget their funds.

For Alex, who is considering a career in law, the experience was invaluable. "I learned about [the legislative process] in school but I didn't actually understand it until I was actually up close and personal with it," she said.

Allison and Alex can only serve during the 2008 session, as a result of the program's strict age limitations and its intent to involve as many young people from across the commonwealth as possible.

Allison has a few words of advice for next year's page and messenger hopefuls: set yourself apart from the others. She suggests that applicants work on getting "fantastic grades" and take on major leadership roles in school and in the community.

Alex urges pages and messengers to maintain their grades during the session. "Don't get behind. It's really hard to catch up."

Both girls value their time at the assembly. "I'm really glad I did it," said Alex.

Now it's back to more normal days.

For more information about the Senate page program, contact Gwen Bailey at 698-7410. For information about the House of Delegates program, contact Virginia Habansky at 698- 1502.