Adair County High School junior JT Loy recently got the opportunity to be a page for Kentucky State Senator Max Wise in Frankfort.
As page, Loy worked with Sen. Wise to deliver papers “from place to place” around the Senate. Delivering papers as a page provided him with the ability to watch the Kentucky Senate vote on bills from the Chamber floor.
“It was cool seeing how the Senate works. How they vote on bills, talk about bills. It was interesting,” Loy said. “It was a good experience.”
Loy was able to go to Frankfort as part of Family Resource & Youth Services Coalition Page Day on Feb. 27. Every year, the coalition sends FRYSC programs invites local programs to have a student apply to be a page for a day. While students that live in and around Frankfort can regularly serve as pages, this program gives the entire commonwealth the opportunity to experience government firsthand.
“The students get to go up (to Frankfort) and have a real-life civics lesson by being an active participant in the House or Senate chamber during the session of the General Assembly,” Adair County High School FRYSC Coordinator Hali Anderson explained. “Since I’ve been in this role, (Loy) is the first who applied and actually went… It’s kind of a learning experience for all of us.”
While the coalition decides which students get to journey to Frankfort for the opportunity, Anderson chose Loy to apply as he is a straight-A student who takes dual credit classes as high school junior. He had also previously expressed interest in government-related topics.
“(The process) was a little confusing,” Loy said. “As the day went on, I understood it a little better. How the amendments work on the bills—I did not know they voted on every amendment. It was interesting.”
Sen. Wise, who Loy worked under, also spoke about Page Day.
“The Senate and the Kentucky General Assembly always enjoys welcoming students from across the commonwealth onto the Chamber floor as pages get to experience the political process up close and personal,” he said.
By Kenley Godby
kenley@adairvoice.com
