Andrew Ma, a freshman at Eastside Preparatory School in Kirkland, served as a page for the Washington
State Senate the week of Feb. 20. Sen. Claire Wilson (D-Federal Way) sponsored his week at the
Legislature.

The page program offers a hands-on opportunity for students to find out how state government works.

During the week-long interactive learning experience, students get a firsthand look at the legislative
process and get to explore the Capitol campus by delivering papers for Senate staff.

Ma heard about the page program during an elementary school tour and applied this year when the
program reopened after the pandemic.

“When I was in fourth grade, I was on a tour of the Capitol and I thought it was very cool, and
somewhere along the tour they dropped that they have this page program where kids could work at the
Capitol for a week and then get an inside view of how the government works,” he said. “And later I was
looking at my legislators’ websites and it was on one of their websites and it said, ‘Apply for the page
program,’ and then that just reminded me of all the things that built up to that, so then I thought, ‘OK,
I’m going to apply.’”

Ma said that his favorite part of the experience was getting to be on the Senate floor.

“It’s something that I’m not allowed to do if I’m just on a civilian tour. I can actually be on the floor, not
just in the wings,” he said. “If I’m on floor duty, I can listen to their speeches, see what the government is
like. Even if it’s still on TV, sometimes being there in person and seeing what they actually do on the
floor and experiencing it I think is really interesting.”

Ma also gave a piece of advice to future pages, encouraging them to make the most of their time at the
Capitol.

“A lot of people say you get what you put into it, a lot of teachers say this. It’s kind of a cliche at this
point, but I do think it’s true,” he said. “If you just do the bare minimum here, you just do your tasks, I
think it’s still a great experience. But if you try to actively make things happen for yourself, like really talk
with your senators, engage with them and try to make opportunities for yourself, then it can make the
week so much more interesting.”

Wilson said that Ma was “a pleasure to have with us at the Capitol and on the Senate floor.”

For more information about the Senate Page Program, contact SenatePageProgram@leg.wa.gov.