Rare opportunity
South Texan students may apply to become a Congressional Page

Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz will nominate a young South Texan to participate in the United States Congressional Page program.

"This is a rare and prestigious opportunity for a young person to join other 16-year-olds going to school and working in the U.S. House of Representatives," according to a press release for Ortiz.

Applications will be taken from students in the 27th district of Texas, which includes Port Aransas.

A page candidate must be: 16 years old by Sept. 2, and must provide a birth certificate; a junior in high school; in good physical health; a U.S. citizen and a resident of District 27. Students must have a 3.0 grade point average and must provide a transcript. Their parents/guardian must support their candidacy to be a congressional page. The congressman 's office must receive the application package by Wednesday, June 27.

On Thursday, June 28, Ortiz will forward applications with all the necessary components to a panel of six to eight judges, equally balanced in representing the Coastal Bend and the Valley, who will score the applications, interview the top candidates, then choose a winner for Ortiz to nominate.

There are no exceptions to these rules.

Applications are available on Ortiz' Web site, http://ortiz.house. gov/images/stories/documents/sponom. pdf.

The fall semester will begin with check-in on Sunday, Sept. 2, and ends on Jan. 25. Candidates will be screened by a committee of judges and scored. Ortiz' office will announce the winner in mid-July.

Ortiz contacted South Texas superintendents and principals on Monday, June 4, to make them aware of the opportunity and encourage them to vigorously recruit talented young students to apply for the Congressional Page Program.

Ortiz last nominated a page for the autumn of 2005. The student was Jessica Castaneda of Robstown.