Running errands, grabbing coffee, shuffling through paperwork.

It’s the life of a page. They’re the glue that holds together the North Carolina General Assembly.

Sarah Woolard, 17, a rising senior at Washington High School, is one local teen who served as a page for the House of Representatives in Raleigh during the week of June 29. She was sponsored by state Rep. Paul Tine.

Woolard said she applied to be a page because she thought it would be a good experience and a good opportunity to catch a glimpse of what it’s like at the legislature on a day-to-day basis.

“I’d heard a lot of my friends talk about it,” she said. “I thought it’d be fun.”
Several local teens have served as pages this summer, including Benjamin McKeithan and Walter Zerniak IV during the week of June 22. Both were also sponsored by Rep. Tine.

Woolard said one of her favorite memories from the experience was watching the legislators debate over a bill for two nights. Pages have the opportunity to attend chamber sessions, so they can run errands for the legislators if needed.
“It got very intense,” she said. “That was neat to watch them debate it.”

Rep. Paul Tine said the role of a legislator when sponsoring a page is to make sure the page is getting acclimating in Raleigh and answer any questions for him or her.
“It’s a great program. We each get five a year, or five a session,” he said. “All mine are always from the district.”

Tine said there are a lot of applicants to sift through before narrowing it down to five pages, and the program is a good way for young students to gain first-hand experience of how lawmakers work in Raleigh.

“Pages assist us in a lot of different ways,” he said. “(Woolard) had a positive attitude. … Always had a smile on her face.”