DJDS Junior Participates in United States Senate Page Program

This past semester, DJDS junior Holden Demain was missing from his usual haunts. No classes, no student council meetings, no basketball games. Instead, he spent his time in Washington, D.C., participating in the United States Senate Page Program. 

Last year in May, Demain was notified that Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) had sponsored him to be a page for the first semester of the 2024-25 school year. 

Every semester, 30 juniors from across the country are selected to assist in the U.S. Senate as a page. At first, however, Demain wasn’t really thinking of applying. “I initially didn’t want to apply for a semester because I would leave DJDS, and I 

love it here,” he said. 

However, after talking to Upper Division Principal Dr. Jeremy Golubcow-Teglasi, Demain recognized that this could be an opportunity of a lifetime and decided to apply. 

With such a selective application process, Demain was shocked when he got accepted. “It was complete elation [when I found out], it was my hope and dream to get in [to the program] and it happened… It was really really cool,” he said. 

Despite his family originally being doubtful that he would get in, they expressed immense joy when he did. “I was very happy that he was chosen; he really deserved the opportunity,” said Mara Demain, Holden’s sister. 

The pages, especially those who serve during the semester, maintain a demanding schedule. Every workday, the pages wake up at 5:00 am to eat breakfast, then head to school from 6:00 am to 10:00 am. After school, they head to the senate where one night Demain had to stay until 1:00 am. 

This intense schedule is in addition to the cellphone restriction put into place for security and safety reasons. However, Demain made the most of this situation. “[not having my phone was] fantastic,” he said. “Your interactions and social connections are so much deeper and so much more real without a phone.” 

Over the course of five months, the pages stay at Daniel Webster Hall, located two blocks from the Senate. The hall is named after Daniel Webster who, in 1929, became the first senator to sponsor a page.

While in D.C., Demain was also elected president of the Senate Page School student council, which he calls “president of the pages.” For Demain, the best part of this experience was “getting to know so many amazing people” who are just as passionate about politics as he is. 

“I was very happy that he was chosen. He really deserved the opportunity. However, it was really weird having him gone for so long,” said Mara Demain.

After participating in the program, Demain has a new and renewed faith in democracy. “There’s a lot of complaining and a lot of fear about what’s happening to democracy [but] I think this country is strong and the people of this country are strong,” he said. “Every senator really cares about the issues and really cares about their constituents."