Not impressed enough with Rena Wang, the Montgomery High senior who was named one of 104 students to take part in the United States Senate Youth Program?
(The story scheduled to run today, but things happen…if you don’t see it today, keep looking)
For Wang, who is described as “amazing,” “a dynamo” and a uniquely curious and ambitious learner, it’s not the first time she has been invited to Washington.
Last year, she spent six months as a Democratic Cloakroom Page in the House of Representatives.
Wang wrote a book about her experiences and printed copies herself
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The 100-page book has pictures of Wang with Senate Majority Harry Reid, with her mom Shirley Li at Obama’s inauguration, advocating for mandatory deforestation reduction in Central America during Model United Nations, with Ambassador Humayun Kabir of Bangladesh and General Colin Powell speaking at the 20th annual National Memorial Day concert.
The book is largely comprised of emails Wang sent to friends, family members and mentors, keeping them apprised of what she was up to in Washington. It’s a fun read, but noteworthy in the depth of national politics that Wang was an eye witness to for half a year.
Here are some excerpts:
“On a legislative note, the House passed a historic mortgage reform bill on Thursday. The bill ‘aims to ensure that banks make good faith efforts to ensure that mortgages go to borrowers who can repay them rather than issue ‘liar loans’ with little such security [and] also aims to reduce banks’ incentives to promote riskier, more expensive loans to borrowers, or to package such loans into securities for investors.’”
“According to many on the Hill, fundaments of this piece of legislation (partnerships, committee task, etc) are being executed already. Such swift action, unsurprisingly, serves as a very positive signal for the American public,” she writes.
“On another interesting note, though perhaps more to teenagers than anyone else, I met designer and TV host of ‘Project Runway’ Tim Gunn (and last season’s winner, Leanne Marshall) earlier this week while they were promoting fashion design copyright legislation on the Hill. He kindly offered to redesign our uniforms – this met grins and vigorous nods, of course.”
In another week’s entry, Wang writes: “It’s a magical time here in Washington: the flora is in peak bloom, the sky has been a majestic azure for nearly a week, and the Obama administration’s 2010 fiscal year budget has finally passed.”
“This past week was one of the most vote-intensive weeks yet. Pages stayed on the House floor until 11 p.m. or later quite a few times this week because so many very significant, contentious bills – all with immediate and direct impacts on the American public – were up for final passage. The most climatic was the debate that preceded the vote on the aforementioned $3.55 trillion 2010 federal budget,” she writes. “Unsurprisingly, both Democrats and Republicans utilized their most adept debaters and party leaders during the process.
“I was particularly impressed by Congressman Steny Hoyer’s (House Majority Leader) speech during the debate. He spoke with such masterful force and sagacity that Members on both sides of the aisle were stunned with admiration. Only decades of experience and inbuilt fortitude can cultivate a presence as powerful (as) that of Mr. Hoyer.”