Since mid-January Carroll High School senior Delaney Schwarte has been experiencing life on Iowa’s Capitol Hill in Des Moines working as page in the House of Representatives. Schwarte says her interest in government politics took on a more active role in 2014.
Following the campaign for the Instructional Support Levy she then volunteered to support candidates running for school board and city council positions. Then, Schwarte says, she was encouraged to apply to the Iowa Legislative Page Program by those who had already been through the program.
After being accepted into the program Schwarte opted to work as an Office Page in the Chief Clerk’s Office. In her nearly two months on the job she’s gotten to know the different legislators and their backgrounds and the legislative process all while performing her regular page duties.
It’s a real job with a paycheck, says Schwarte, who still has to find a balance between school work and her job.
By taking two of her high school classes online and one as an independent study Schwarte says she’s pretty much teaching herself during the legislative session which is scheduled to close on April 19. That is if it proceeds as planned.
She adds it’s been a great experience overall and that she’s learned a lot. Following graduation from Carroll High School this spring Schwarte plans to study pre-law with the goal of becoming a human-rights lawyer in the future.
