Carmen Schwalen has always been passionate about law and the government system. When she had the opportunity to spend the second semester of her senior year working at the Iowa State Capitol, she took it. Schwalen is currently assisting the Iowa House of Representatives as a page and has been spending her last semester of high school differently.
Schwalen spent the summer before her senior year participating at Girls State which is designed to teach young women about the political process. Wanting to pursue law as a future career and go into public service, the people she worked with during Girls State recommended her for the position.
“Politics and being in this world, the House of Representatives, US Senate, Attorney General, are all something that I am really interested in and feel like are super cool,” Schwalen said. “This was a good way of getting my feet wet before deciding if that’s something I want to do with my life.”
To get this position, Schwalen had to go through a lengthy hiring process. For the first round of the application, she had to complete some written essays, submit letters of recommendation, and create a personal statement. After she made it past this round, she had to interview with the House of Representatives and Senate clerks. Once the interview rounds were completed, Schwalen was alerted if got the position or not, and where she would be stationed.
“Letters of recommendation were super important to get in because you needed to show that you had mentors who believed in your ability to achieve certain things,” Schwalen said. “There’s a lot of steps in the whole interview process, but it’s all a valuable experience so I think it’s worth it.”
After she was accepted as a general page in the House of Representatives, she was given the chance to interview for other select offices including the speaker, majority leader, and minority leader. Schwalen interviewed for all of them but was eventually selected for the House Majority Leader’s Page where she assists Matt Winshitl.
“For these positions, it’s a different set of skills that are needed compared to just being a normal page,” she said.
Since she is the House Majority Leader’s page, she doesn’t only sit out on the floor but helps out with other tasks.
“I do a lot of his work [Matt Windschitl] for him whether it’s writing newsletters, organizing the social calendar, updating things, running meetings, taking pictures, and just communicating with certain Representatives,” Schwalen said. “There’s a lot of tasks and things I am responsible for, but I love getting to do it.”
Working full-time at the capitol is not Schwalen’s only responsibility. She takes online DMACC classes and is also taking an independent study on financial literacy that requires a lot of communication with her teachers and counselors. Having to balance school and work through this process, Schwalen has learned many unique lessons.
School-work balance has not been the only lesson she’s learned.
“We’ve had to learn to be able to withhold our emotions from our face so if we are ever sitting in debate and something controversial came up, our faces would not reflect our opinions,” Schwalen said. “Being able to listen to other’s opinions and not being close-minded is also really important.”
Another responsibility as a page is memorizing each of the 100 Reps and where they sit on the floor. If a rep were to need something, they hit a button and the pages run them bills, get them mail, or even fill up their waters. The pages also get to listen to the debates and occasionally will livestream committee meetings that the public can see. Outside of working in the House and Senate, pages help speed along the process and get stuff done.
“My job gives me the freedom to sit in on a lot of these meetings, and follow the bills that are important to me,” she said. “If I’m interested in the education committee, I can just ask my boss if I’m able to just go to education one day. It’s very much a hands-on learning experience.”
The thing Schwalen appreciates most about this process is the people she met along the way.
“It’s really cool because you get to meet the representative from your district. I get to work with David Young and learn more about him than just his name. You can know them more as a person rather than just a candidate,” she said.
This opportunity has been very valuable to Schwalen and has given her a jump-start on her future goals.
“I’m a big believer in we are the next generation of people who are going to be making these bills. We are the people who will fill the shoes of current reps, congressmen, and even presidents, ” she said. “Being able to have this experience first-hand and report back to the younger generations is so cool.”
