During the school year, students in grades three through high school have the opportunity to be an honorary page during a session of the Senate. The job of a page is to deliver messages and other important documents. While the Senate is in session, the members need to remain seated. This means that they can’t get up and go talk to someone across the room. The only way to communicate is through notes. The pages deliver these notes. Sometimes members of the Senate need to communicate with members of the House of Representatives, and the pages also deliver notes there. For example, Senator Craven needed to send a note to Representative Rotundo. The pages work for Sergeant of Arms Mike Dunn, and help out other Chamber staff members.

While there, the Senators and other people who work in the state house, make the students feel very important. Androscoggin county’s Senators Margaret Craven, and Debra Simpson keep the pages busy. Pages even get to try out the gavel used by Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell. Not only do you get to see what the Senators do, you also get to explore the beautiful State House once you are done with being a page.

Walking through the halls, you may meet Speaker of the House Hannah Pingree or Maine’s first female Attorney General Janet Mills. There is a lot of excitement in the air! So many students wanted to be a page that some people were on waiting lists for up to 10 months! It is an extremely popular program that really helps out the members of the Senate.

This is a great program in which students get a hands-on experience and get an inside look on how our government works.