What Clinton High School student Catherine Coleman expected to be a boring trip to Raleigh and the state Legislature, turned out to be an eye-opening experience the likes of which she never thought she’d witness.

Coleman, who served as a page for Rep. Larry M. Bell, D-Sampson, from June 22 to June 25, said she was present for the passing of the anti-bullying bill, which protects students on the basis of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I owe him a big thank you,” Coleman of Bell’s willingness to give her the opportunity to serve as a legislative page.

“To be perfectly honest,” Coleman shared of her experience, “I thought it was going to be boring, but it ended up being not that, to say the least.”

Coleman, serving as a volunteer during Graves Memorial Presbyterian Church’s Bible school, agreed to sit down a few minutes Tuesday to talk about her experience in Raleigh and at the General Assembly.

While her time spent as a page did everything she expected, such as learning the fundamentals of government and meeting new people, Coleman explained that serving as a page taught her so much more, including leadership skills.

“The major thing it taught me was leadership, things you can use in everyday life,” Coleman voiced, jokingly adding that from her experience she felt as though she could run her own government.

As for her experience, Coleman listed such duties she, along with 23 other pages from around North Carolina, performed.

“We would sit in different committee meetings, pass out papers, fill the water pitchers, transport notes and keep an eye on the representatives during big session meetings,” Coleman listed.

“During the big session meetings,” Coleman recalled, “we would have different posts in the meeting room to keep an eye on the representatives and transport any notes they had.”

Coleman also revealed that the pages spent roughly four hours a day in meetings, however, she added, the four hours were not consecutive.

“Monday, June 22, when I was there, they were discussing the anti-bullying bill,” Coleman remembered. “They started at 7 p.m., but we were dismissed at 9 p.m. because they couldn’t hold us any longer. The representatives stayed till 10 p.m. though.”

As for witnessing the passing of the anti-bullying bill, Coleman defined herself and her fellow pages as a “lucky group.”

“We were lucky because we got to see a lot of important bills that will impact us, and they were extremely interesting. Both sides had a point. I would stand up there and think, ‘Oh, that person has a point,’ but then another person would speak and I would say, ‘Oh, they have a good point, too.’”

One of the these “good points” Coleman commented on was one made by a representative who shared a personal experience.

“I met another page whose dad was a representative. He stood up and started talking. He said, what if there was a 10-year-old-boy, and what if this boy wasn’t talented in sports, but God gave him talents to sing, dance and perform. What if this same boy liked to wear cool colors (pink) like his father. I have seen first hand a child, my son, get bullied, and the teachers not do anything. I can’t handle it when it is my son.”

Coleman then shared that she remembered looking over to see this representative’s daughter, also serving as a page, ask to be dismissed as tears rolled down her face.

“It broke my heart,” said Coleman. “It was a moving time. There was her dad standing up for what he believed in, which didn’t align with his party’s belief. It took courage for a politician to say, ‘I don’t care if I lose my job, it is what I believe.’”

Along with witnessing the passage of this bill, Coleman also witnessed discussion on the sexual education bill, all interesting facets of her three-day adventure.

Jessica Wagner can be contacted at 910-592-8137 ext.122 or reached by e-mail at siphoto@intrstar.net