On Jan. 30, an alarm went off at 5 a.m. in Washington D.C. and a group of high school juniors and seniors carefully chosen from around the country had to drag themselves out of bed and into their classrooms. At 6 a.m, they began their morning of high school classes, which was preceded by an afternoon of work on Capitol Hill.

Junior Laura Cleves is the student representative to the Brookline School Committee (BSC), and a member of the high school Legislature and Student Council. She is one of just thirty teenagers selected for the United States Senate Page Program and is working as a Senate aide for a semester.

The students are working on the floor of the Senate Chamber, with their work mainly consisting of counting votes and delivering correspondence between different Senators.

According to Cleves, the rigorous application process consisted of sending in several written statements, which were reviewed and chosen by Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts. To secure her spot on his team, she then had an interview with Shayanne Dalencourt-Simon, a staffer of Markey.

Cleves said her initial interest in the program was sparked by an email her father received about it, which he immediately shared with his politically inclined daughter.

“The day before he got the email, I was actually lurking on Ed Markey’s website, so I kind of took it as a sign when my dad told me about it. I thought it might be the universe telling me to go for it, so I just put myself out there and waited to see what happened,” Cleves said.

School librarian Ann Collins said she believes Cleves, who is a library volunteer, will gain valuable life lessons from her time in the program, but will be missed in the library.

“As a student library volunteer, [Laura] is very engaged, conscientious, and asks questions when she doesn’t understand something, which is very important here. [Laura] is great with customer service, like greeting students as they come in. She’s great to have around,” Collins said. “She’ll also meet lots of interesting people and make new friends from all over, which will prepare her well for college and beyond.”

Social studies teacher Roger Grande was Cleves’s World History teacher during the 2021-22 school year, and said he was very excited to learn about her acceptance, and is confident she will excel in the program.

“She’s very sophisticated about matters of politics,” Grande said. “I remember on the second or third day of school last year, Laura brought up this deep political and historical knowledge about racial justice in class, and I just knew I was going to have a good time with her for the rest of the year.”

According to Cleves, Grande’s class was a major point of encouragement for her interest in United States politics and the democratic system, and has inspired her to act on issues she is passionate about.

“Mr. Grande had this climate change project where I had to research the impacts that climate change had on marginalized communities. By the end of the project, I was no longer interested in just getting a good grade, but actually sharing the stories of people who have been affected by systemic racism,” Cleves said.

Cleves said she views the program as an incredible opportunity that gives her a chance to really see the inside workings of government, bringing her a step closer to making a difference in the country.

“I’ve always been interested in issues like systemic racism, inequities in our healthcare system, classism and the inequities that have been perpetuated by capitalism. These are all things I felt strongly about but felt like I couldn’t act on until now,” Cleves said.

Collins said while it can be difficult to adjust to a completely new atmosphere, she knows Cleves will end up excelling in Washington D.C.

“I know it’s her first time being away from home, and there are a lot of nerves that can come with that, especially since she’ll be in a whole new state,” Collins said. “But she has a lot of passion and I know she’s going to be successful.”

According to Grande, his hope for Cleves is to share her experience in the real world with other teenagers, and encourage them to take on tasks that could potentially affect our society.

“Ultimately, I hope Laura can continue a life of civic engagement and continue pushing on matters that she believes in,” Grande said. “I really think she can empower other students to see themselves as people who can make a difference.”