SCHAKOWSKY MEETS WITH STANDOUT STUDENT FROM ETHS ON HIS WAY TO WASHINGTON TO PARTICIPATE IN CONGRESSIONAL PAGE PROGRAM

AUGUST 18, 2004

SCHAKOWSKY MEETS WITH STANDOUT STUDENT FROM ETHS ON HIS WAY TO WASHINGTON TO PARTICIPATE IN CONGRESSIONAL PAGE PROGRAM

EVANSTON, IL - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today welcomed Mark Bracey Sherman, an outstanding student from Evanston Township High School (ETHS), who will be spending the fall semester of his junior year in Washington D.C. as a Congressional Page on Capitol Hill.

Schakowsky nominated Sherman for the academic program, where he will attend the House Page School with other high school juniors and become a paid employee of the House of Representatives. As a Page, Sherman will experience first-hand the workings of the House of Representatives. His duties will include preparing the House floor for sessions, assisting the Democratic staff in the Cloakroom, answering phones and delivering correspondence and legislative materials throughout the Congressional complex. Pages work as a team and not in individual Members' offices.

According to Sherman's application, he has maintained a 3.6 Grade Point Average in his first two years at ETHS, has been accepted into freshman and sophomore honor societies, and was awarded the African American Youth Achievement Award.

"Mark is an exceptional student and an outstanding young man who is about to have the experience of a lifetime. Only a handful of students every year have the opportunity to participate in the Congressional Page program and I have no doubt that Mark will be a standout in Washington as he is in Evanston," Schakowsky said.

In order to be considered for a Congressional Page position, applicants must first meet strict academic eligibility requirements and then be sponsored by a member of Congress. Pages are selected by either the Majority Leader or Minority Leader. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi informed Schakowsky on August 2, 2004, that Sherman was accepted into the Congressional Page fall semester program set to begin on September 5th, and ending on January 28th, 2005.

Pages live in a secure dorm, blocks from Capitol Hill, attend classes at the Library of Congress, and participate in field trips and seminars with guest speakers, including members of Congress, academics, and journalists.