Martin recalls time in D.C. as Senate Page
Neshoba County Teenage Republicans Chairman Ty Martin said being on the Senate floor every day and working as a Senator Page in Washington, D.C., was an honor.
On top of his time in D.C., where he met Senators such as Cory Booker and Roger Wicker, Martin also received an Outstanding Academic Achievement award in his Physics class under Dr. Ashley Johnson.
“I got the award not because I had the highest grade in the class, but because I was the most improved out of everyone else,” Martin said. “I didn’t think I was going to get it, but Dr. Johnson said it wasn’t about who finished the highest, it was who improved the most.”
Martin first received his appointment to participate in the Senate Page Program from Mississippi U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker in November 2021. He headed to D.C. on Jan. 31, and returned to Neshoba County on June 11.
While in D.C., he took classes such as English comp, pre-calculus, and U.S. history before the Senate floor opened each morning.
“It was beyond anything I had ever done,” Martin said. “Being on the Senate floor every day and working with the Republican senators was great. School was challenging. I took Physics as my science, and my teacher, Dr. Ashley Johnson, worked with me. I finished with around 87-90 in the class.”
Martin said he witnessed huge decisions, such as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson being confirmed for the Supreme Court, spoke to politicians like Congressman Don Young and Cory Booker, and even rode the underground Senate Congressional subway with Matthew McConaughey.
Martin also went to a joint session of Congress, and he said one of the coolest people he talked to was Rep. Don Young.
“I didn’t get to meet President Biden, but Vice President Kamala Harris walked behind the procession to the joint session of Congress I went to with the other pages and Senators,” Martin said. “Getting to be a high schooler and having a Senate ID which allowed me to walk wherever I wanted was awesome, and I got to see things like the dome of the Capitol and do things that a lot of people don’t normally get to do.”
Martin recalled sitting on the Senate floor and getting a very nice compliment from Sen. Wicker, who called him one of his favorite pages.
He said these politicians are probably the most important people you’ll ever see, but they sat down and had casual conversations with him and the rest of the Senate pages, asking things like how they were doing in school.
“The most challenging part of my time up there was probably some of the kids I worked with every day,” Martin said. “While I disagreed with their opinions politically, I still had to find a balance and work with them. I respected that they had a different opinion than me on issues, but it was very challenging at times. I was one of the only Southern pages because Alabama, Kentucky, and West Virginia left. Living in Webster Hall was also a bit challenging. Towards the end of the program, however, I was able to have reasonable discussions with the other pages.”
Martin is a rising senior at Neshoba Central High School.