Rep. Dick Muri sponsors high school student Ben Meikle as House page
Ben Meikle, a student at Steilacoom High School, traveled to Olympia to serve as a page in the state House of Representatives the first week of the 2017 legislative session, Jan. 9-13. He was sponsored by Rep. Dick Muri, R-Steilacoom.
“Its been great, having lunch with Rep. Muri and seeing him as a person just like you are,” said Meikle. “I really love the architecture of the Legislative building. This week has been an amazing experience.”
Meikle is a freshman at Steilacoom High School. While working as a page he learned how to navigate the many buildings on the Capitol campus, delivering messages and documents to legislators and staff.
“There is a lot of running around. My Fitbit in a day is around 13,000 steps. Before I got here I thought I would go into software development. But now, government seems really exciting, even if it's just local government,” continued Meikle.
Meikle is the 14 year old son of David and Susan Meikle. He is also a talented musician, who plays the guitar and enjoys 80's rock and roll. During his stay at the Capitol, he observed the Legislature in action while keeping up with his school work by attending the page school a few hours each day.
Each year, students from around the state apply to participate in the House Page Program. Students spend a week attending page school, learning the inner workings of state government and assisting legislators on the House floor. Pages earn $35 per day while serving in the program. To become a page, applicants must have a legislative sponsor and be between the ages of 14 and 16. Additionally, pages are required to obtain written permission from their parents and school.
For more information on the legislative page program, visit the House Page Program website: http://leg.wa.gov/House/Pages/HousePageProgram.aspx
