Tim George pulled an all-nighter in the U.S. Capitol Building as the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Medicare reform bill 220-215. Another time, George stood less than five feet away from President George W. Bush during the State of the Union address.
George, a member of Churchill’s ‘05 graduating class, spent his junior year as a page for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was one of only 75 students nationwide selected for the program — high-school juniors. “It was definitely the best year of my life,” George said. “It was just an amazing experience to be down there in the middle of everything.”
In applying for the page position before his junior year, George was sponsored by Rep. Wayne Gilchrest. (R-Md.). “I’ve always been interested in politics, architecture and the law,” George said. “I wanted to get a taste of one of them.
George lived in a dormitory two blocks away from the U.S. Capitol. Among his responsibilities, George ran documents to people speaking on the House floor and set up the House chamber for a joint session of Congress.
“It was interesting to see a lot of the politicking … that you don’t see on C-SPAN,” George said. During the House vote on the Medicare bill, George saw one representative receive a cell phone call from President Bush. The bill’s narrow passage (215-210) left Capitol Hill in suspense; staying up all night wasn’t difficult. “Your adrenaline was really running all through the night,” George said.
George also discovered some disappointing realities about politics, like the lack of social interaction among U.S. representatives in recent years. Legislative and fundraising demands mean that some longtime representatives haven’t been out for lunch with fellow House members in more than five years, George said.
Overall, though, George graduates with a greater desire than ever to get politically involved. He’ll head off to Wheaton College in Illinois later this summer, and he hopes to return to student government — a passion of his through middle school and early high school that he had to abandon when he landed the Capitol Hill position.
Reflecting on life in Potomac, George said, “I can’t think of any place I’d have rather grown up.” Churchill teachers like Eleanor Goodwin (English) and Art Bescher (Social Studies) were inspirational and helpful.
“I’m pretty happy to be moving on,” George said. “I just kind of want to go out and see the world. … I’m excited to go have a new opportunity.”