ANNAPOLIS – Early one morning, Alyssa Collins joined a cluster of teenagers in gray blazers hustling around the Maryland State House.
For weeks, Collins from Carroll County and more than 100 other high school seniors from every county in the state served as pages for the state legislature.
Students in the page program get a front-row seat, and sometimes a behind-the-scenes look, into the legislative process. They also often get a chance to interact with decision makers from their counties and be a part of the legislative session for two weeks before they graduate.
“It’s really nice to say that they’re not just politicians, they’re regular people,” said Collins. “It’s a really fun experience because we’re able to work with people who are all around the state and work together.”
Each year, dozens of students fight for a spot in the 13-week program, said Tawana Offer, page coordinator for the Maryland General Assembly.
The rigorous application for the program varies from county to county, with some requiring multiple essays, a resume and an interview.
“This year we had 101 slots for pages and 28 alternates across all the counties,” Offer said. “There are 13 weeks of session, so each batch of pages comes in for two non-consecutive weeks.”
At the beginning of the week, they are assigned to the House or Senate chamber and undergo training and preparation for different duties. For example, on the Senate side, pages will test the voting buttons on each desk before the chamber convenes.
Pages report for duty at 9 a.m., though many get in earlier to get a head start.
While some get ice and coffee from the café and deliver them to each chamber’s lounge, others gather in a small room in the back of the hallway known as the page lounge. They prepare for a day of serving coffee, passing documents and observing the legislative process in action.
Many said they were not expecting to be as immersed in the legislative process, but were able to deliver bill amendments to members and speak with their local representatives.
After the chambers adjourn for the day, many pages linger in the State House or join and sometimes even testify in committee meetings. Other times, they explore Annapolis and hang out – at least before their 10 p.m. curfew.
“It’s not all politics,” said Marcus Schwartz of Anne Arundel County. “It’s meeting new people and socializing and meeting people your age from around the state.”
While the tasks do not leave a lot of time for homework, the students said their schools understand. One page said his teacher expected a presentation on his experience at the State House when he returned.
“These are the best and brightest in the state,” said Offer.
Many students come into the program with their hearts set on being politicians, said Offer, but for some the experience is an awakening about other career possibilities.
“Being a page is the start of everything,” said Offer, adding that some delegates and senators were also once pages. “That kind of gives the students hope that being a page isn’t the end of the line for their career.”
Offer said the pages bond during the experience, often going out after work for ice cream, dinner and even game nights.
“Arriving in Annapolis, I was afraid I would not get along with my colleagues, but colleagues turned into friends and friends turned into family,” said Faith Ngwa from Washington County. “From rural Eastern Maryland to my hometown, we all came to the heart of Maryland, Annapolis, and together we serve Maryland.”
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