(Lander, WY) – Lander Valley High School senior Ani Kincaid was the only one from Wyoming to be accepted into the Senate Page Program and spent part of her summer in Washington, D.C.
It all started with a speech on Veterans Day for Ani. She was asked by the vice principal to give a speech on Veterans Day because both of her parents are Veterans. It just so happened that U.S. Senator Barrasso was the keynote speaker at LVHS that day and heard her speech, which prompted him to encourage her to apply to the program.
A page helps things run smoothly. They do a variety of tasks in the Capitol for the senators, including giving notes, talking to senators and passing files, among other things.
“It’s been a really good experience working for the Senate and working in the United States Senate Chamber and seeing the bills that are being passed, and it’s really kind of sparked my fire,” Ani shared with County 10 about her future plans.
There are long work days as a page, dress codes to follow and no phones. It was strict in a good way, she explained.
Ani’s mom Misti also shared how this strictness gave them peace of mind, but also made it difficult. The no phone contact was a frustration, she noted. But knowing how secure Ani was made her feel good about her being so far from home.
While some of the other pages didn’t interact with their senators as much, Ani had a different experience with Barrasso.
“Luckily, coming from Wyoming, it’s a very tight-knit and great community, and Barrasso talked to me and showed me a lot of love and respect. And I really have a lot of admiration for that. He treated me very nicely, and I just can’t say thank you enough.”
Ani shared a few words with those who might be interested in the program:
“I would say that you need to start looking at it as early as possible because the only time that you can do it is when you are 16 or 17. You either have to be going into your junior year or going into your senior year. It’s very competitive. There are only 30 people that can get in. Like across the entire continental U.S., it’s really competitive. But if you have a good enough application and you have like a genuine interest in these things, you have a pretty good chance, but your heart has to be in it.”
She gave the program a glowing recommendation.
“I just want to say that if someone has the chance to do this, I would absolutely recommend it. The friends and people that you meet and the opportunities that you can have and make are once in a lifetime. Honestly, I know that this experience has been probably the most rewarding experience in my life. It’s equally as challenging, but it’s also equally as worth it. I really appreciate everything that Barrasso did for me. He was the kindest Senator that I could ever have the chance to work with. And Cynthia Lummis, she was so nice to me. And I really appreciated all of their help throughout this program. They were all just angels. Honestly, it was amazing to be able to work with them. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.”
