OLYMPIA — Melody Coleman, a home-schooled high school junior from Arlington, recently spent a week working as a page for the Washington state Senate at the capitol in Olympia. Coleman was one of 18 students who served as Senate pages for the seventh week of the 2013 legislative session.

The Senate Page Program is an opportunity for Washington students to spend a week working in the Legislature. Pages, like Coleman, are responsible for such tasks as transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering messages and mail. Pages spend time in the Senate chamber, in addition to attending page school, to learn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process.

“This week has been so much fun and very interesting,” Coleman said. “My favorite part of the week was when I was paging on the Senate floor. It was awesome to see Sen. [Kirk] Pearson in action. I did not see any partisanship fighting. Come to think of it, most of the bills I saw were approved unanimously.”

Pearson, R-Monroe, sponsored Coleman for the week.

“We are lucky to be able to provide this amazing opportunity for our students to learn about the legislative process,” said Pearson, who serves the 39th District. “I’m pleased that Melody was able to participate in it.”

Coleman enjoys playing the piano and swimming laps in the pool. She is the daughter of Jan and James Coleman of Arlington.

Junior high, middle school and high school students who are interested in the Senate Page Program are encouraged to visit www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Administration/PageProgram.