Uma R. Yaga, a sophomore at Redmond High School, served as a page with the Washington State Senate the week of April 17. Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) sponsored her week at the Legislature.<\/p>\n
The page program offers a week of interactive learning about how state government works. Pages get to witness committee hearings, sit in on floor debates, and deliver materials for Senate staff.<\/p>\n
Yaga applied to the program because of her general interest in government.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to be a page because I\u2019m in student government and have been interested in a career in law, so paging seemed like a really interesting opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yaga’s favorite part is meeting the senators and seeing the floor action up close: \u201cThe ones I met are so nice and seem to really care about giving pages the best experience they can!\u201d<\/p>\n
Yaga sponsored a bill for her page program\u2019s mock committee regarding firearms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI introduced a bill to require firearm safety training for everyone who buys a gun. Personally, if anyone around me is carrying a gun I\u2019d want them to at least know that guns should not be misused and have as much training as a driver does.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mock committee was so fun to be able to mimic what the senators do on a daily basis and discuss an issue that is really important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yaga also would recommend the program to potential candidates in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great experience to learn about the state Legislature\u2019s process from the inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yaga said the biggest thing she\u2019s taking away from her time at the Legislature is learning the importance of working with people from all walks of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have learned the importance of working with people you may not agree with and understanding that sometimes your bills won\u2019t pass and you\u2019ve just got to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dhingra had lunch with Yaga during her week at the Legislature. The senator said, \u201cUma is an inspiring young person, and I admire her passion for the issues she worked on in page school this week.\u201d<\/p>\n