Clark County native Ozzie Gonzalez traveled to Olympia Feb. 21 to begin a week of service as a page in the state House of Representatives. He was sponsored by his 17th District Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver.

“It was an honor to sponsor Ozzie. It is great to have students involved in their government, and the page program is a great process to teach the importance of civics to the next generation,” said Harris. “Ozzie had a great time up here, learned a lot and made lasting friendships. I’m grateful for his service to the Legislature.”

Ozzie’s page duties included assisting representatives on the House floor during voting and performing ceremonial roles at the opening of each day of session. He learned to navigate the many buildings on the Capitol campus and delivered messages and documents to legislators and staff. Part of each day was also spent attending page school, learning the inner workings of state government.

Applying what he learned during the week, Ozzie co-wrote a bill designed to restructure the juvenile court system for a mock committee hearing.

Ozzie is the son on Eric and Cori Gonzalez. He is excited to attend the Pan American games at the end of March as a competitor in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu championship.

Each year, students from around the state apply to participate in the legislative 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, visit: http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Pages/HousePageProgram.aspx.