Newmarket Grade 7 student Skye Baker has long had interest in the political world.
While travelling home from a Toronto Blue Jays game several years ago, she recalled her mother pointing to the Ontario legislature. Her mother had worked as a page there for a time in the 1980s.
Now, Baker is following in those same footsteps.
“I felt that it’d be a very exciting opportunity to be able to go around and meet all of these political figures,” she said.
The Stonehaven Elementary School student will be making her way to the legislature starting Feb. 20. She will participate in the provincial page program, where students from across the province serve as pages helping out MPPs in the legislature. The program is meant for high-achieving students, with only about 150 students selected each year. Baker is the first Newmarket student in several years to participate.
Prospective students go through an application process, including an essay component. The program received 355 applicants in all for its latest intake, with three coming from the Newmarket-Aurora riding.
Baker said she had some luck getting in but also felt she put in a strong essay, along with some good extracurricular activities like gymnastics and volunteering.
“I worked for it,” she said. “I worked hard in my extracurriculars.”
Baker said she is ready for all aspects of the experience. She will take time away from school for the three-week program, living with some cousins in Toronto. She will have to dress in a specific uniform while doing tasks like passing messages in the chamber, collecting speaking notes and distributing essential documents.
She said she has an interest in interacting with some specific politicians.
“I am interested in the Green Party and why they don’t get nearly as much representation because I feel the environment is very important for the future,” she said.
Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy met with Baker at her constituency office Feb. 15.
She said Baker is a well-rounded and dynamic young lady.
“This is wonderful. I’m so excited for you,” Gallagher Murphy said to Baker.
Baker’s mother, Lorna Coutler, said she was happy about her daughter’s interest.
“I was proud of her for getting her essay together. I really wanted her to do the work for herself,” she said. “It’s kind of a neat tradition that both of us have had the experience.”
Baker said she is a good student and has confidence that she can catch up as she misses some weeks of school for the program.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity,” she said.
