Foster taking applications for pages

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster is accepting applications from high school juniors interested in becoming a congressional page.

"The Congressional Page Program is a tremendous learning opportunity for our future leaders," the 14th District Democrat said. "Many successful and accomplished people have gotten their start from the Page Program, from Bill Gates to President Lyndon B. Johnson."

Foster will nominate one high school junior to the second session of the summer program in Washington, D.C., which runs July 5 to Aug. 1. Pages assist members of Congress with their legislative duties, deliver correspondence and small packages within the congressional complex, answer phones in the member cloakrooms and prepare the House floor for sessions.

Interested juniors must live in the 14th District, be at least age 16 and submit an application via fax or hand delivery to either Foster's Batavia or Dixon offices by Friday, May 1. Applications may be downloaded at foster.house.gov/UploadedFiles/pageapplication.pdf. Applicants must provide their Social Security number, a parental consent form, official transcript of high school grades, a written essay, a resume of extracurricular activities and letters of recommendation. Foster's offices are at 27 N. River St., Batavia, 60510, (630) 406-1808 fax; and 119 W. First St., Dixon, 61021, (815) 288-0743 fax.

Members of Congress take turns nominating students for the program, making the opportunity to nominate a page a rare occurrence. For information, visit pageprogram.house.gov/.