Mt. Pleasant senior heading to Des Moines as House page

MT. PLEASANT - Mt. Pleasant High School senior Olivia Larson has been selected as an Iowa House of Representatives page for the 2021 legislative session in Des Moines.

Larson is excited for her opportunity to be part of the democratic process, meet new people and explore new opportunities.

'I'm excited to meet new people, and it also opens up a lot of doors because you can get a lot of other positions from this position,” Larson said.

Larson is not a newcomer to politics, having volunteered in 2020 for presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and President-elect Joe Biden's campaigns. In fact, Larson was a paid intern in Warren's campaign during the caucus season for the primaries.

Although she is excited, her new position is not going to be easy with grueling hours, school work at night and having to live on her own for the first time away from home.

Larson said she will be doing mainly grunt work at her new position, equating it to a paid internship, but Larson is hopeful and excited for the experience. Under the House page position, Larson also applied to work for the Iowa House Minority Leader Todd Prichard.

'In the House, I would basically get to work for him but in general be doing paperwork, getting coffee, voicing my opinions on bills, and stuff like that,” Larson said.

Larson hopes that this firsthand experience in the legislative process will help her decide if she wants to pursue a similar career path.

'I'm excited because I've always wanted to work in public service, in the government,” Larson said.

Larson is planning on pursuing a degree in social justice at the University of Iowa after her position in the capitol.

'I am pretty excited, and I'm excited to see what doors open for me,” Larson said.