Dent sponsors exchange student in House Page Program
CONTACT: Kurt Hammond, Senior Public Information Officer | 360-786-7794
Dent sponsors exchange student in House Page Program
Leana Fuchser, an exchange student from Switzerland, and currently a high school student at Naches Valley, paged in the Washington State House of Representatives April 3-7. She was sponsored by 13th District Rep. Tom Dent.
Leana got an up-close look at how the Washington State Legislature works during her time in Olympia. Her responsibilities included delivering messages and documents to state lawmakers in their offices, in committee meetings, and on the floor of the House chamber. She also attended Legislative Page School every day.
“It was great to have Leana take such an active interest in how our state government works, coming from Switzerland. She is an outgoing and very bright girl. She will succeed in whatever she decides to do,” Dent said. “I hope she will share her experience with folks back home. It would be nice to have more exchange students visit our state Capitol so we can show them how our government works and our beautiful campus.”
Leana’s host family in Naches is Daniel and Kristin Hayes. She enjoys sports, reading, traveling, and hanging out with friends. She arrived in Washington state in August and will return home to Switzerland at the end of the school year in June.
The page program is designed to educate students on the legislative process and give them an up close look at the work being done in Olympia during the legislative session. Pages also work on a culminating project and write a piece of legislation, then present the bill in a mock committee hearing to fellow pages.
Pages earn $50 per day while serving in the program. To become a page, applicants must have a legislative sponsor, be between the ages of 14 and 16, and obtain written permission from their parents and school. For more information about the House page program, visit: http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Pages/HousePageProgram.aspx.
