During the week of March 23, Josephine Maiorano of Seattle served as a page in the Washington State Senate. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, sponsored Maiorano’s weeklong experience in the Legislature.

“It was a pleasure to sponsor Josephine this week,” Kohl-Welles said. “She was a bright and energetic student and helpful to me and my staff.”

During the week pages assist senators and staff, attend lectures with guest speakers and go to page school where they create their own bills in a mock committee setting. Maiorano drafted a bill that would give all citizens of Washington two free years of college at community and state colleges.

“It’s important for everyone to get the education they want without the incredible student loans that weigh them down,” Maiorano said.

Maiorano heard about the page program on a 4th grade field trip to the Capitol.

“When I came again on an eighth grade field trip, our class took a picture with Sen. Kohl-Welles and she posted the picture on her website. I could tell she cared about us,” Maiorano said.

The best parts of Maiorano’s week were making new friends and learning more about government, she said.

“When I paged on the Senate floor I got to see all the interactions between the senators from the view of the lieutenant governor,” Maiorano said. “It was cool seeing the stuff you usually only read about in newspapers.”

A wide variety of events kept Maiorano busy during her week at the Legislature.

“I was surprised at how many different things we got to do,” she said. “Not just running errands, but touring the Temple of Justice and attending committee hearings, and delivering messages to senators where we got to see what their offices look like.”

Maiorano, 14, is an eighth grader at Hamilton International Middle School. She also enjoys soccer, track and playing the flute.