Alison Brohman

Alison Brohman's father didn't have to ask her twice if she wanted to apply to the Ontario Legislative Page Program. Spending a month at the legislature helping MPPs and learning about government was something Alison, age 14, was born to do.

"I was really enthusiastic and excited about being a Page," Alison told us when we asked her about her experience. "I've always been interested in government and politics.

"Before the program started, I did know quite a bit about how government works, but there was so much more that I learned. And you don't really need to already know about government to be a Page, because you're taught so much while you're there. We all found everything really interesting, and no one had any problems learning.

"Missing school for a month wasn't too hard. To be honest, you are so busy that you don't even notice the time. It went by so quickly for all of us. And when it was time to go back to school, it wasn't hard to readjust and catch up. But I did miss my job as a Page.

"I think having the program is a really good thing. Pages are very important. Without Pages, things wouldn't be where they need to be, and messages wouldn't get to the MPPs while they were in the legislature. MPPs really appreciate the Pages.

"For me, the best part about being in the program was all the friends I made. Because there can only be one Page per district, you get to meet and talk to kids your age from all different places. And since you spend so much time together during the month, you really get to know each other, and you have a lot of fun together. I still keep in touch with everyone. It's always great to make new friends."

Alison is in her first year of high school and attends the International Studies Program.

Alison plans to study politics when she goes to university, and to apply to the federal Page program. One day she hopes to become an elected Member of Parliament and eventually would like to be Prime Minister of Canada.