Eleven students from the 20th District page in Washington State House of Representatives
CONTACT: Daniel McDonald, Public Information Officer | 360-786-7182
Eleven students from the 20th District page in Washington State House of Representatives
During the 2023 legislative session, more than eleven students from the 20th Legislative District paged in the Washington State House of Representatives, four of whom were sponsored by Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia: Emma Hamilton, Haiden Bartel, Sommer Zurinskas, and Liliyn Lorentzen.
Emma, Haiden, Sommer, and Liliyn all completed a 40-hour work week, which involved serving House members on the chamber floor, making deliveries throughout campus, supporting member offices, and attending Page School. Page School supplemented their hands-on learning experience with a classroom component geared toward understanding the legislative process.
Emma paged during the third week of the legislative session, Jan. 23 – 27. A W.F. West High School student, she enjoys playing the guitar, piano, bowling, and tennis. She also participates in Young Life.
Haiden paged during the fourth week, Jan. 30 – Feb. 3. She attends Chehalis Middle School and her interests include volleyball, dance, playing the cello, bowling, and cheering.
Sommer also paged during the fourth week. She attends Onalaska Middle School where she's active in school sports, including volleyball, track, and basketball. Her favorite subject is English, and she has read over 100 novels. She is also active in church youth group and enjoys arts and crafts.
Liliyn paged during the eighth week, Feb. 27 – March 3. A Toutle Lake High School student, she plays basketball, volleyball, and softball, and participates in 4H.
“Emma, Haiden, Sommer, and Liliyn all did a fantastic job helping legislators do the people's work throughout the 2023 session,” said Abbarno. “They represented their schools and communities well. I enjoyed getting to know each of them and learning about their unique backgrounds, experiences, and aspirations for the future.”
House representatives are allowed to sponsor four pages in odd-year, 105-day sessions and two pages in even-year, 60-day sessions. This year, Abbarno received eleven page requests and helped find sponsors for all eight extra students, including:
- Ian Hudson (Centralia) with Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama
- Messina Occhino (Chehalis) with Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama
- Jacob Nicholson (Toutle) with Rep. Stephanie McClintock, R-Vancouver
- Layla Laufmann (Castle Rock) with Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama
- Rowan Robinson (Chehalis) with Rep. Stephanie McClintock R-Vancouver
- John Kuykendall (Centralia) with Rep. Greg Cheney, R-Battle Ground
- Maddison Flohr (Silverlake) with Rep. Stephanie McClintock R-Vancouver
To serve as a House page, students must be at least 14 years of age and have not reached their 17th birthday. The Legislature made a one-time exception this year; the weeks of February 5-10 and April 2-7 are designated for students who are 17-18 years old and were unable to participate previously due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This can be an important part of a student's education and experience in school,” added Abbarno. “It is an honor to have our community at the Capitol and I appreciate the interest the students had for the program throughout the 20th Legislative District.”
Pages earn a stipend of $50 per day and can also earn up to 20 hours of community service.
Students interested in participating next year can find more information about the program at RepresentativePeterAbbarno.com or at Leg.Wa.Gov/House/Pages/HousePageProgram.aspx.
