Rep. Drew MacEwen has sponsored several students from Mason County as House pages this session, but he recently expanded his reach 5,000 miles beyond the county’s border.

Last week, he sponsored Monika Motyka from Poland and Hanna Bluem from Germany as pages in the House Page Program. Motyka and Bluem are currently spending 10 months in the United States as foreign exchange students, attending North Mason High School in Belfair. They’re being hosted by Kevin and Catherine Shutty of Shelton. Mr. Shutty was MacEwen’s former public information officer before being elected Mason County Commissioner last fall.

While serving as pages, Motyka and Bluem attended page school every day, delivered messages and documents to legislators and staff, and fulfilled other tasks critical to the efficient operation of the Legislature.

“Monika and Hanna are great kids, and it was a lot of fun to have them around as pages last week,” said MacEwen. “Their drive to learn more about how our system of government works at the local, state and federal level is nothing short of impressive. I was glad to hear how much they enjoyed experiencing our state government firsthand, and want to thank them both for their service to the House. Dziękuję, Monica! Danke, Hanna!”

Each year, students from around the state apply to participate in the House Page Program. To become a page, applicants must have a legislative sponsor, be between the ages of 14 and 16, and obtain written permission from their parents and school. Pages earn $35 per day while serving in the program. For more information about the House Page Program, click here.