To the editor,
One experience or person can change the course of another person’s entire life — at least that’s what happened to me. During my sophomore year in high school, I went to the capitol with a school club to visit our Representative, Dan Kelley.
Knowing that I was president of the club, Dan suggested that I apply to the Page program that we have at our state capitol. Pages are high school students who complete various tasks for the legislators and capitol staff while getting the opportunity to watch the legislative process. I took Representative Kelley’s advice, and I was lucky enough to be accepted as a Senate Page. The experience was literally life changing — it eventually affected what college I chose to attend and the career field I want to join. I currently am a sophomore at Simpson College, preparing to go into public policy and civil rights work.
While I know most of my success in school can be attributed to my own hard work, I am humbled when I think about how my life would be different today if Kelley had not recommended the position to me. By working at the capitol, I was able to witness firsthand how hardworking Rep. Kelley is. He is well respected by fellow legislators and the capitol staff.
I also know that Representative Kelley cares about the people in his district—if he did not, he probably would not have taken the time to advise that younger version of myself a few years ago. Kelley cares about the citizens in his district because he knows that they are the source of greatness in this community.
We had a big loss when Maytag left town, but we have been resilient and successful in our comeback because of the residents’ hard work. Kelley knows that a district can only be as great as its citizens, so he acts as a leader who directs us knowing the potential that we have.
He knew that I could be successful even before I knew it, and I am sure that his leadership has been instrumental for the success of our community. In the same way that he supported me and the rest of his district, I am fully supporting Kelley’s candidacy in the next election as a small way to thank him for all he has done.
Britney Samuelson
Newton