Morgan Hill student becomes Congressional page for House Speaker
Dennis Hastert
Sara Morimoto of Morgan Hill will soon be experiencing the
beginning of a brilliant career in politics
– or at least a crash course in how the sausage making of
bureaucracy works.
Morgan Hill student becomes Congressional page for House Speaker Dennis Hastert
Sara Morimoto of Morgan Hill will soon be experiencing the beginning of a brilliant career in politics – or at least a crash course in how the sausage making of bureaucracy works.
The 16-year-old Sobrato High School student has just been selected to be the Congressional page for the Speaker of the House, Congressman Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). She was one of 77 high school juniors picked from a list of thousands who applied for such a job, and leaves for Washington on June 8.
To say that her parents are proud is an understatement.
“I started sobbing when we got the call,” said mom Susan Turner. “We were in Philadelphia at the time looking at colleges.”
The Congressional Page program is highly competitive. Hastert picks only 77 pages after the names are submitted to him from each Congress member – and there are 440 congressional districts.
The Page program has been in existence for more than 200 years. Duties of the pages – young students interested in political or associated careers – include attending sessions of Congress, delivering correspondence, legislative material and
packages within the Congressional complex, and preparing the House Chambers for sessions. Morimoto will work for Speaker Hastert and work from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. – or whenever the House adjourns for the day.
Despite Morimoto’s sterling academic record, her parents weren’t sure if they had much of a chance.
“We didn’t really know our Congressman,” Turner said. “We have Congressman [Richard] Pombo in this area, and he lives over in Tracy. But when they gave us the call, they were pretty excited about it too because they don’t always get a page. All Congress [members] submit only one name.”
But Morimoto won the appointment on the first try, and it’s no wonder with her academic record. She maintains a 4.33 GPA, works in Morgan Hill’s Roto-Care health clinic (for low-income families) one day a week, is on the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team and the Boys’ Varsity Tennis Team.
Morimoto’s mother explains that Sobrato High doesn’t have a Girls’ Tennis Team. Though it’s been reported that the Boys’ Tennis Team has allowed female students on the team because of a lack of male players, Turner said that’s not the case.
“Sara went to see the principal and said, ‘I want to exercise my right to Title IX,'” Turner said. “And the principal said, ‘And you’re just the one to do that, Sara.'”
Morimoto was not available for an interview as she was attending classes this week, but her mother said she is interested in becoming a lawyer, perhaps in patent and intellectual property law. Morimoto also excels in mathematics, engineering and science.
Morimoto will be living in the Page Dormitory next to the Capitol and the House of Representatives office buildings. She will also attend classes in the attic of the Library of Congress.
