Sehab Boparai, a freshman from Seattle Christian School in SeaTac, served as a page with the Washington State Senate the week of March 20. Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines) sponsored his week at the Legislature.
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.
Boparai heard about the page program from family friend who recommended that he join the program.
One of the key skills he’s learned so far is time management while balancing the educational program with his paging duties. His favorite part of the page program so far is being able to walk around and explore the campus and chat with various staff and make connections.
Boparai said the bill he’s sponsoring for the page program’s mock committee is about replacing farmers’ losses from wolf attacks because he doesn’t want to see the wolves hurt but would also like the farmers to be made whole.
“We wanted to protect cattle from wolves killing them, but we decided that there’s really no way to protect them, and we also don’t want to kill the wolves because they are endangered, so we decided to give the famers some money in return for losing cattle.”
Keiser enjoyed her experience with Boparai, saying, “Sehab is a terrific young person who’s going to make a tremendous difference in our community with his passion for the environment.”
For more information about the Senate Page Program, contact SenatePageProgram@leg.wa.gov.
