Valley teen working as page for Sen. Harry Reid
Dec 28, 2012, 11:35 AM | Updated: 11:35 am
QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. — A 16-year-old Queen Creek girl is about place herself in the middle of the national political scene.
Higley High School junior Keeley Quinlan is one of 30 people nationwide who have been chosen to work as a Senate page for the next five months in Washington, D.C. Keeley applied to be a page in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office after she discovered that neither of Arizona’s two senators are currently participating in the page program.
Reid chose Quinlan to work in his office. She believes a few things made her stand out.
“With my school, I do a lot of leadership programs and skills,” she said. “I was part of a safety initiative where we tried to reach out to community members and tried to make everyone a safe driver. I think that really stuck out.”
Working as a page will keep Quinlan busy.
“We carry legislation,” she said. “We deliver bills, answer phone calls, and make sure the Senate chamber is prepared every morning.”
Quinlan, who is considering a career in journalism, thinks she’ll learn a lot over the next five months.
“I hope to gain exposure and experience,” she said. “You’re around a lot of prominent people. You’re around government jobs, so I get to see what happens and how our democratic society works.”
Quinlan was inspired to apply for the Senate page program by her brother Riley, who served as a page in the U.S. House.
